m 


THE 


ORIGIN  OF  CIVILISATION 


AND  THE 


PRIMITIVE  CONDITION  OF  MAN. 


II 

i MENTAL  AND  SOCIAL  CONDITION  OF  SAVAGES. 


SIR  JOHN  LUBBOCK,  Bart.,  M.P.,  P.R.S. 


AUTHOR  OP  * PREHISTORIC  TIMES  * ETC.  I VICE-PRESIDENT  OP  THE  ETHNOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  i 
FELLOW  OF  THE  UNNEAN,  GEOLOGICAL,  ENTOMOLOGICAL,  AND  OTHER  SOCIETIES. 


NEW  YORK: 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 

549  & 651  BROADWAY. 

1871. 


. 


. 


. 

' 


PREFACE  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


i 


Of  all  the  applications  of  the  scientific  method  of  inquiry* 
the  latest,  the  highest,  and  by  far  the  most  important,  is  iU 
application  to  the  study  of  man.  From  the  analysis  of  the  indi- 
vidual, bodily  and  mental,  inquiry  passes  to  the  consideration 
of  human  nature  in  its  collective  and  related  aspects.  Sociol- 
ogy is  the  science  which  treats  of  the  natural  laws  of  human 
society  in  all  its  aspects.  Ethnology  gives  account  of  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  men,  and  deals  with  questions  of  race.  Anthro- 
pology is  the  term  comprehensively  applied  to  the  natural  his- 
tory of  the  human  species,  and  professes  to  be  the  complete 
science  of  man,  body  and  soul,  in  all  the  modifications  of  sex, 
temperament,  race,  civilization,  etc.  This  vast  field  is  now 
beginning  to  be  actively  cultivated  in  the  true  scientific  spirit, 
that  is,  with  a view  of  simply  ascertaining  what  are  the  laws 
of  the  phenomena. 

Eminent  among  the  inquirers  in  this  domain  is  the  author 
of  the  present  work,  who  has  devoted  himself  to  researches  into 
the  origin  of  civilization  and  the  primitive  condition  of  man. 
In  his  first  work,  entitled  “ Prehistoric  Times,”  Sir  John  Lub- 
bock has  presented  the  evidences  that  remain  of  the  state  of 
mankind  before  the  period  of  authentic  history.  In  the  present 
work  he  enters  upon  an  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  existing 
inferior  races,  and  presents  a view  of  the  mental  and  social  con- 
dition of  savage  tribes. 


IV 


PEEFACE. 


Besides  the  curious  interest  which  always  pertains  to  in- 
formation concerning  the  lower  grades  of  our  species,  accurate 
information  of  this  kind  has  now  come  to  have  a deep  philo- 
sophical interest.  It  is  part  of  the  grand  research  into  the 
career  of  humanity  upon  earth — into  the  origin,  nature,  and 
course  of  civilization.  Is  there  a definite  and  assured  law  of 
progress  in  human  affairs — a slow  and  gradual  ascent  from  the 
lower  to  the  higher  ? and  was  that  low  condition  of  humanity, 
of  which  we  have  the  prehistoric  traces,  and  which  is  illustrated 
by  the  present  condition  of  savage  races,  the  starting-point  of 
this  ascent  ? or  was  primeval  man  a developed  and  superior 
being,  who  has  retrograded  and  degenerated  into  the  savage 
state  ? These  are  grave  questions  now  impending  in  the  world 
of  thought,  and  which  are  of  high  practical  interest ; for,  to 
know  the  fundamental  law  of  movement  in  humanity,  is  the  pre- 
requisite of  all  wise  and  successful  measures  of  social  ameliora- 
tion. 

It  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  the  present  work  has  its 
highest  significance.  In  giving  us  a detailed  and  trustworthy 
statement  of  the  mental  and  social  condition  of  the  lowest 
tribes,  it  contributes  indispensable  data  for  conclusions  respect- 
ing the  nature  and  destiny  of  man  upon  earth.  In  methodizing 
these  data,  and  sifting  the  multifarious  evidence,  so  as  to  throw 
the  clearest  light  upon  the  art,  religion,  morals,  language,  laws, 
and  social  habits  of  the  savage  races,  the  author  has  made  a 
valuable  contribution  toward  the  scientific  treatment  of  the 
subject,  and  has  earned  the  thanks  of  all  students  in  this  im- 
portant department  of  research. 


Kew  York,  October , 1870. 


PREFACE. 


TN  my  work  on  ‘ Prehistoric  Times  ’ I have  devoted 
several  chapters'  to  the  description  of  modern 
savages,  because  the  weapons  and  implements  now 
used  by  the  lower  races  of  men  throw  much  light 
on  the  signification  and  use  of  those  discovered  in 
ancient  tumuli,  or  in  the  drift  gravels  ; and  because  a 
knowledge  of  modern  savages  and  their  modes  of  life 
enables  us  more  accurately  to  picture,  and  more  vividly 
to  conceive,  the  manners  and  customs  of  our  ancestors 
in  bygone  ages. 

In  the  present  volume,  which  is  founded  on  a course 
of  lectures  delivered  at  the  Eoyal  Institution  in  the  spring 
of  1868,  I propose  more  particularly  to  describe  the 
social  and  mental  condition  of  savages,  their  art,  their 
systems  of  marriage  and  of  relationship,  their  religions, 
language,  moral  character,  and  laws.  Subsequently  I 
shall  hope  to  publish  those  portions  of  my  lectures 
which  have  reference  to  their  houses,  dress,  boats, 
arms,  implements,  &c.  From  the  very  nature  of  the 
subjects  dealt  with  in  the  present  volume,  I shall 


VI 


PREFACE. 


have  to  record  many  actions  and  ideas  very  abhorrent 
to  us ; so  many  in  fact  that  if  I pass  them  without 
comment  or  condemnation,  it  is  because  I am  reluc- 
tant to  fatigue  the  reader  by  a wearisome  iteration 
of  disapproval.  In  the  chapters  on  Marriage  and 
Religion  more  especially,  though  I have  endeavoured  to 
avoid  everything  that  was  needlessly  offensive,  still  it 
was  impossible  not  to  mention  some  facts  which  are 
very  repugnant  to  our  feelings.  Yet  were  I to  express 
my  sentiments  in  some  cases,  my  silence  in  others  might 
be  held  to  imply  indifference,  if  not  approval. 

Montesquieu1  commences  with  an  apology  that 
portion  of  his  great  work  which  is  devoted  to  Religion. 
As,  he  says,  ‘on  pent  juger  parmi  les  tenebres  celles 
qui  sont  les  moins  epaisses,  et  parmi  les  abimes  ceux 
qui  sont  les  moins  profonds,  ainsi  l’on  peut  chercher 
entre  les  religions  fausses  celles  qui  sont  les  plus  con- 
formes  au  bien  de  la  societe ; celles  qui,  quoiqu’elles 
n’aient  pas  l’effetde  mener  les  homines  aux  felicites  de 
l’autre  vie,  peuvent  le  plus  contribuer  a leur  bonheur 
dans  celle-ci.  Je  n’examinerai  done  les  diverses  religions 
du  monde  que  par  rapport  au  bien  que  l’on  en  tire  dans 
l’etat  civil,  soit  que  je  parle  de  celle  qui  a sa  racine 
dans  le  ciel,  ou  bien  de  celles  qui  ont  la  leur  sur  la 
terre.’  The  difficulty  which  I have  felt  has  taken  a 
different  form,  but  I deem  it  necessary  to  say  these 


i 


) 

\ 


1 ‘Esprit  des  Lois,’  liv.  xxiv.  ch.  1. 


PREFACE. 


Vli 


few  words  of  explanation,  lest  I should  be  supposed  to 
approve  that  which  I do  not  expressly  condemn. 

Klemm,  in  his  ‘Allgemeine  Culturgeschichte  der 
Menschen,’  and  recently  Mr.  Wood,  in  a more  popular 
manner  (‘  Natural  History  of  Man  ’),  have  described  the 
various  races  of  man  consecutively ; a system  which  has 
its  advantages,  but  which  does  not  well  bring  out  the 
general  stages  of  progress  in  civilisation. 

Various  other  works,  amongst  which  I must  specially 
mention  Muller’s  ‘ Geschichte  der  Americanischen 
Urreligionen,’  ‘ M‘Lennan’s  Primitive  Marriage,’  and 
Bachofen’s  ‘Das  Mutterrecht,’  deal  with  particular  por- 
tions of  the  subject.  Maine’s  interesting  work  on  ‘ An- 
cient Law,’  again,  considers  man  in  a more  advanced 
stage  than  that  which  is  the  special  subject  of  my  work. 

The  plan  pursued  by  Tylor  in  his  remarkable  work 
on  the  ‘ Early  History  of  Mankind,’  more  nearly  re- 
sembles that  which  I have  sketched  out  for  myself, 
but  the  subject  is  one  which  no  two  minds  would 
view  in  the  same  manner,  and  is  so  vast  that  I am 
sure  my  friend  will  not  regard  me  as  intruding  on  a 
field  which  he  has  done  so  much  to  make  his  own. 

Nor  must  I omit  to  mention  Lord  Karnes’  ‘ History 
of  Man,’  and  Montesquieu’s  ‘ Esprit  des  Lois,’  both 
of  them  works  of  great  interest,  although  written  at  a 
time  when  our  knowledge  of  savage  races  was  even 
more  imperfect  than  it  is  now. 


viii 


PEE FACE. 


Yet  the  materials  for  such  a work  as  the  present 
are  immense,  and  are  daily  increasing.  Those  in- 
terested in  the  subject  become  every  year  more  and 
more  numerous ; and  while  none  of  my  readers  can  be 
more  sensible  of  my  deficiencies  than  I am  myself,  yet 
after  ten  years  of  study,  I have  been  anxious  to  publish 
this  portion  of  my  work,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  con- 
tribute something  towards  the  progress  of  a science 
which  is  in  itself  of  the  deepest  interest,  and  which  has 
a peculiar  importance  to  an  Empire  such  as  ours,  com- 
prising races  in  every  stage  of  civilisation  yet  attained 
by  man. 


High  Elms,  Down,  Kent  ; 
February , 1870. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP,  PAGB 

I.  Introduction  . . 1 

» 

II.  Art  and  Ornaments  . . 25 

III.  Marriage  and  Relationship.  o • • . . 50 

IV.  Religion 114 

Y.  Religion  ( continued)  . 158 

VI.  Religion  ( concluded) 219 

VII.  Character  and  Morals # 257 

VIII.  Language 273 

IX.  Laws 300 

Appendix 

Notes  ..••••••••.,  363 

INDEX 867 


ILLU  STEATION  S 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PLATES. 

PLATE  PAGE 

Group  op  Sacred  Stones  in  the  Dekhan.  After  Forbes  Leslie.  ‘ Early 

Races  of  Scotland,’  vol.  ii.  p.  460  ....  Frontispiece . 

I.  Sketch  of  Mammoth,  on  a piece  of  ivory,  found  in  the  Rock- 

shelter  at  La  Madelaine,  in  the  Dordogne  . . To  face  25 

II.  Feejeean  Modes  of  Dressing  the  Hair.  After  "Williams.  * Fiji 

and  the  Fijians,’  p.  158 To  face  48 

III.  Australian  Marriage  Ceremony.  After  Freycinet.  * Voyage 

autour  du  Monde,’ pi.  104  .....  To  face  74 

IV.  Indian  Sacred  Stones.  After  Forbes  Leslie.  ‘Early  Races  of 

Scotland,’  vol.  ii.  p.  464  To  face  206 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FIGURES. 

FIG.  PAGE 

1.  Group  of  Reindeer.  From  a photograph  presented  to  me*  by 

M.  le  Marquis  de  Vibraye 26 

2-4.  Drawings  on  Esquimaux  Bone  Drillbows.  Presented  to  the 

Ashmolean  Museum  at  Oxford,  by  Captain  Beechey . . . 27 

5.  North  American  Indian  Census  Roll.  After  Schoolcraft.  ‘ His- 

tory of  the  Indian  Tribes,’  vol.  ii.  p.  222  33 

6.  Indian  Gravepost.  After  Schoolcraft.  ‘History  of  the  Indian 

Tribes,’  vol.  i.  p.  356  . . . . . . .35 

7.  Indian  Gravepost.  After  Schoolcraft.  ‘ History  of  the  Indian 

Tribes,’  vol.  i.  p.  356 


35 


Xll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIG.  PAGE 

8.  Indian  Barexetter.  After  Schoolcraft.  * History  of  the  Indian 

Tribes,’  yol.  i.  p.  338  36 


9.  Indian  Barkletter.  After  Schoolcraft.  ‘ History  of  the  Indian 
Tribes,’  vol.  i.  p.  336  


37 


10.  Indian  Barkletter.  After  Schoolcraft, 
Tribes,’  vol.  i.  p.  336 


‘ History  of  the  Indian 

.....  38 


1 1.  Indian  Petition.  After  Schoolcraft.  ‘ History  of  the  Indian 

Tribes,’  vol.  i.  p.  416 .39 

12.  Caroline  Islander.  After  Freycinet.  ‘ Voyage  autour  du  Monde,’ 

pi.  57 46 

13.  New  Zealand  Head.  After  Freycinet.  ‘Voyage  autour  du 

Monde,’  pi.  107 47 

14.  New  Zealand  Head.  After  Freycinet.  ‘ Voyage  autour  du 

Monde,’  pi.  107 47 

15-17.  Shoulder-blades  prepared  for  Divination.  After  Klemm, 

* All.  Cultur.  d.  Mens.’ vol.  iii.  p.  200  .....  143 

18.  A Sacred  Dance  of  the  Virginians.  Lafitau,  vol.  ii.  p.  135  . 156 

19.  Agoye.  An  Idol  of  Whiddah.  Astley’s  ‘ Coll,  of  Voyages,’ 

vol.  iii.  p.  50 178 

20.  Sacred  Stones.  Fiji  Islands.  Williams,  loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  220  . 21 1 


LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  WORKS  QUOTED 
IN  THIS  VOLUME. 


Adelung.  Mithridates. 

Arago,  Narrative  of  a Voyage  round 
the  World. 

Asiatic  Researches. 

Astley,  Collection  of  Voyages. 

Atkinson,  Oriental  and  Western  Siberia. 

Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht. 

Bain,  Mental  and  Moral  Science. 

Baker,  Albert  Nyanza. 

„ Nile  Tributaries  of  Abyssinia. 

Battel,  The  strange  Adventures  of,  (Pin- 
kerton’s Voyages  and  Travels). 

Beechey,  Narrative  of  a Voyage  to  the 
Pacific. 

Bosnian,  Description  of  Guinea  (Pin- 
kerton’s Voyages  and  Travels). 

Brett,  Indian  Tribes  of  Guiana. 

Brooke,  Lapland. 

Bruce,  Travels  in  Abyssinia. 

Burchell,  Travels  in  Southern  Africa. 

Burton,  Lake  Regions  of  Africa. 

,,  Pirst  Pootsteps  in  Africa. 

„ Abbeokuta  and  the  Cameron 
Mountains. 

„ City  of  the  Saints. 

Cailli6,  Travels  to  Timbuctoo. 

Callaway,  Religious  System  of  the 
Amazulu. 

Campbell,  Tales  of  the  West  High- 
lands. 

Carver,  Travels  in  North  America. 

Casalis,  The  Basutos. 

Catlin,  North  American  Indians. 


Chapman,  Travels  in  S.  Africa. 
Charlevoix,  History  of  Paraguay. 
Clarke,  Travels. 

Collins,  English  Colony  in  New  S. 
Wales. 

Cook,  Voyage  round  the  World.  (In 
Hawkesworth’s  Voyages.) 

„ Second  Voyage  towards  the  South 
Pole. 

„ Third  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Cox,  Manual  of  Mythology. 

Crantz,  History  of  Greenland. 

Darwin,  Animals  and  Plants  under 
Domestication. 

„ Origin  of  Species. 

,,  Researches  in  Geology  and 

Natural  History. 

Davis,  Dr.  J.  B.,  Thesaurus  Craniorum. 
Davis,  The  Chinese. 

Davy,  Account  of  Ceylon. 

De  Brosses,  Du  Culte  des  Dieux 
Fetiches. 

Denham,  Travels  in  Africa. 

Dias,  Diccionario  da  Lingua  Tupy. 
Dieffenbach,  New  Zealand. 

Dobrizhoffer,  History  of  the  Abipones. 
Drury,  Adventures  in  Madagascar. 
Dubois,  Description  of  the  People  of 
India. 

Dunn,  The  Oregon  Territory. 

Dulaure,  Histoire  Abregee  des  diffe- 
rentes  Cultes. 

D’Urville,  Voyage  au  Pole  Sud. 

Earle,  Residence  in  New  Zealand. 


XIV 


LIST  OF  WORKS  QUOTED. 


Egede,  Greenland. 

Ellis,  Three  Visits  to  Madagascar. 

„ Polynesian  Researches. 

Erman,  Travels  in  Siberia. 

Erskine,  Western  Pacific. 

Eyre,  Discoveries  in  Central  Australia. 

Earrar,  Origin  of  Language. 

Fergusson,  Tree  and  Serpent  Worship. 

Fitzroy,  Voyage  of  the  ‘Adventure’ 
and  ‘Beagle.’ 

Forbes  Leslie,  Early  Races  of  Scotland. 

Forster,  Observations  made  during  a 
Voyage  round  the  World. 

Franklin,  Journey  to  the  Shores  of  the 
Polar  Sea. 

Fraser,  Travels  in  Koordistan  and  Me- 
sopotamia. 

Freycinet,  Voyage  autour  du  Monde. 

Gaius,  Commentaries  on  Roman  Law. 

Gama,  Descripcion  Historica  y Crono- 
logica  de  las  Pedras  de  Mexico. 

Gibbs,  H.H.,  Romance  of  the  Chevelere 
Assigne. 

Girad-Teulon,  La  Mere  chez  certains 
Peuples  de  l’Antiquite. 

Gladstone,  Juventus  Mundi. 

Goguet,  De  l’Origine  des  Lois,  desArts, 
et  des  Sciences. 

Graah,  Voyage  to  Greenland, 

Gray,  Travels  in  Western  Africa. 

Grey,  Sir  G.,  Polynesian  Mythology. 

„ Journal  of  two  Expeditions 
of  Discovery  in  North-West  and 
Western  Australia. 

Hale,  Ethnology  of  the  United  States 
Exploring  Expedition. 

Hallam,  History  of  England. 

Hanway,  Travels  in  Persia. 

Hayes,  Open  Polar  Sea, 

Hawkesworth,  Voyages  of  Discovery  in 
the  Southern  Hemisphere. 

Hearne,  Voyage  to  the  Northern  Ocean. 

Herodotus. 

Hill,  Travels  in  Siberia. 

Hooper,  Tents  of  the  Tuski. 


Humboldt,  Personal  Researches. 

Hunter,  Comparative  Dictionary  of  the 
Non-Aryan  Languages  of  India  and 
High  Asia. 

Hume,  Essays; 

„ History  of  England. 

Inman,  Ancient  Faiths  in  Ancien* 
Names. 

James,  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

Journal  of  the  Royal  Institution. 

Jukes,  Voyage  of  the  ‘Fly.’ 

Karnes,  History  of  Man. 

Kenrick,  Phoenicia. 

Keppel,  Visit  to  the  Indian  Archipelago  . 
„ Expedition  to  Borneo. 

Klemm,  Allgemeine  Culturgeschichte 
de’r  Menschheit. 

„ Werkzeuge  und  Waffen. 

Koelle,  Polyglotta  Africana. 

Kolben,  History  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

Kolff,  Voyage  of  the  ‘Dourga.’ 

Kotzebue,  Voyage  round  the  World. 

Labat,  Voyage  aux  Isles  de  l’Amerique. 

Lafitau,  Moeurs  des  Sauvages  Ameri- 
cains. 

Laird,  Expedition  into  the  Interior  of 
Africa. 

Lander  (R  and  J.),  Niger  Expedition. 

Lang,  Aborigines  of  Australia. 

Latham,  Descriptive  Ethnology. 

Lecky,  History  of  Rationalism. 

Lewin,  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong. 

Lichtenstein,  Travels  in  South  Africa. 

Lubbock,  Prehistoric  Times. 

Lyon,  Journal  during  the  Voyage  of 
Captain  Parry. 

McGillivray,  Voyage  of  the  ‘ Rattle- 
snake.’ 

M‘Lennan,  Primitive  Marriage. 

Maine,  Ancient  Law. 

Marsden,  History  of  Sumatra. 


LIST  OF  WORKS  QUOTED. 


XV 


Mariner,  Tonga  Islands. 

Martins,  Yon  dem  Rechtszustande  unter 
den  Ureinwohnern  Brasiliens. 

Merolla,  Voyage  to  Congo  (Pinker- 
ton’s Voyages  and  Travels). 

Metz,  Tribes  of  the  Neilgherries. 

Metlahkatlah,  published  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society. 

Middendorf,  Sibirische  Reise. 

Monboddo,  Origin  and  Progress  of  Lan- 
guage. 

Montesquieu,  Esprit  des  Lois. 

Moser,  The  Caucasus  and  its  People. 

Moor,  Notices  of  the  Indian  Archi- 
pelago. 

Mouhot,  Travels  in  the  Central  Parts 
of  Indo-China. 

Muller  (Max),  Chips  from  a German 
"Workshop. 

Lectures  on  Language, 

First  Series. 

,,  Lectures  on  Language, 

Second  Series. 

Muller  (F.  G.),  Geschichte  der  Ameri- 
kanischen  Urreligionen. 

Nilsson,  On  the  Stone  Age. 

Olaus  Magnus. 

Pallas,  Voyages  en  differ entes  Provinces 
de  l’Empire  de  Russie. 

„ Voyages  entrepris  dans  les  Gou- 
vernements  meridionaux  de  l’Empire 
de  Russie. 

Park,  Travels. 

Parkyns,  Life  in  Abyssinia. 

Perouse,  Voyage  autour  du  Monde. 

Pliny,  Natural  History. 

Prescott,  History  of  Peru. 

„ History  of  Mexico. 

Prichard,  Natural  History  of  Man. 

Proceedings  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences. 

Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of 
Natural  History. 

Proyart,  History  of  Loango  (Pinker- 
ton’s Voyages  and  Travels). 


Raffles,  History  of  Java. 

Reade,  Savage  Africa. 

Renan,  Origin  du  Langage. 

Richardson,  Journal  of  a Boat  Journey 

Robertson,  History  of  America. 

Scherzer,  Voyage  of  the  ‘ Novara.’ 

Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes. 

Seemann,  A Mission  to  Fiji. 

Smith,  A.,  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments, 
and  Dissertation  on  the  Origin  of 
Languages. 

„ G.  (Bishop  of  Victoria),  Ten 
Weeks  in  Japan. 

„ I.  History  of  Virginia. 

„ W.,  Voyage  to  Guinea. 

Smithsonian  Reports. 

Snowden  and  Prall,  Grammar  of  the 
Mpongwe  Language.  New  York. 

Speke,  Discovery  of  the  Source  of  the 
Nile. 

Spiers,  Life  in  Ancient  India. 

Spix  and  Martius,  Travels  in  Brazil. 

Sproat,  Scenes  and  Studies  of  Savage 
Life. 

Squiers,  Serpent  Symbol  in  America. 

Stephens,  South  Australia. 

Stevenson,  Travels  in  South  America. 

Strahlenberg,  Description  of  Russia, 
Siberia,  and  Great  Tartary. 

Systems  of  Land  Tenure.  Published  by 
the  Cobden  Club. 

Tacitus. 

Tanner,  Narrative  of  a Captivity  among 
the  North  American  Indians. 

Taylor,  New  Zealand  and  its  Inhabi- 
tants. 

Tertre,  History  of  the  Caribby  Islands. 

Tindall,  Grammar  and  Dictionary  of 
the  Namaqua  (Hottentot)  Language. 

Transactions  of  the  Americ.  Antiq.  Soc, 

Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  Society. 

Transactions  of  the  R.  S.  of  Victoria. 

Tylor,  Anahuac. 

„ Early  History  of  Man. 

Upharn,  History  and  Doctrine  of  Budd- 
hism in  Ceylon. 


XVI 


LIST  OF  WORKS  QUOTED, 


Vancouver,  Voyage  of  Discovery. 

Vogt,  Lectures  on  Man. 

Waitz,  Anthropology. 

Wallace,  Travels  in  the  Amazons  and 
Rio  Negro. 

,,  Malay  Archipelago. 

Watson  and  Kaye,  The  People  of 
India. 

Wedgwood,  Introduction  to  the  Diction- 
ary of  the  English  Language. 


Whately  (Archbishop  of  Dublin), 
Political  Economy. 

Whipple,  Report  on  the  Indian  Tribes. 
Wilkes,  United  States’  Exploring  Expe- 
dition. 

Williams,  Fiji  and  the  Fijians. 

Wood,  Natural  History  of  Man. 
Wrangel,  Siberia  and  the  Polar  Sea. 
Wright,  Superstitions  of  England. 

Yate,  New  Zealand. 


Erratum . 

Page  $7,  for  Dulaure,  yol.  i.  p 260  read  voL  11 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  CIVILISATION 


&c.< 

CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

THE  study  of  the  lower  races  of  men,  apart  from  the 
direct  importance  which  it  possesses  in  an  empire  like 
ours,  is  of  great  interest  from  three  points  of  view.  In  the 
first  place,  the  condition  and  habits  of  existing  savages 
resemble  in  many  ways,  though  not  in  all,  those  of  our 
own  ancestors  in  a period  now  long  gone  by;  in  the 
second,  they  illustrate  much  of  what  is  passing  among 
ourselves,  many  customs  which  have  evidently  no  relation 
to  present  circumstances,  and  even  some  ideas  which  are 
rooted  in  our  minds,  as  fossils  are  imbedded  in  the  soil ; 
and  thirdly,  we  can  even,  by  means  of  them,  penetrate 
some  of  that  mist  which  separates  the  present  from  the 
future. 

Well,  therefore,  has  it  been  observed  by  Maine,  in  his 
excellent  work  on  c Ancient  Law/  that,  ‘ even  if  they  gave 
more  trouble  than  they  do,  no  pains  would  be  wasted 
in  ascertaining  the  germs  out  of  which  has  assuredly 
been  unfolded  every  form  of  moral  restraint  which  con- 
trols our  actions  and  shapes  our  conduct  at  the  present 


2 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 


moment.  The  rudiments  of  the  social  state,  so  far  as  they 
are  known  to  us  at  all,  are  known  through  testimony  of  three 
sorts — accounts  by  contemporary  observers  of  civilisations 
less  advanced  than  their  own,  the  records  which  particular 
races  have  preserved  concerning  their  primitive  history, 
and  ancient  law.  The  first  kind  of  evidence  is  the  best 
we  could  have  expected.  As  societies  do  not  advance  con- 
currently, but  at  different  rates  of  progress,  there  have 
been  epochs  at  which  men  trained  to  habits  of  methodical 
observation  have  really  been  in  a position  to  watch  and 
describe  the  infancy  of  mankind.51  He  refers  particularly  to 
Tacitus,  whom  he  praises  for  having  ‘made  the  most  of  such 
an  opportunity;5  adding,  however,  ‘but  the  “ Germany,55 
unlike  most  celebrated  classical  books,  has  not  induced 
others  to  follow  the  excellent  example  set  by  its  author, 
and  the  amount  of  this  sort  of  testimony  which  we  possess 
is  exceedingly  small.5 

This  is  very  far,  however,  from  being  the  case ; at  all 
epochs  some  ‘ men  trained  to  habits  of  methodical  observa- 
tion have  really  been  in  a position  to  watch  and  describe 
the  infancy  of  mankind,5  and  the  testimony  of  our  modern 
travellers  is  of  the  same  sort  as  that  for  which  we  are  in- 
debted to  Tacitus.  It  is,  indeed,  much  to  be  regretted  that 
Mr.  Maine,  in  his  admirable  work,  did  not  more  extensively 
avail  himself  of  this  source  of  information,  for  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  laws  and  customs  of  modern  savages  would 
have  enabled  him  greatly  to  strengthen  his  arguments 
on  some  points,  while  it  would  certainly  have  modified  his 
views  on  others.  Thus  he  lays  it  down  as  an  obvious 
proposition  that  ‘the  organisation  of  primitive  societies 
would  have  been  confounded,  if  men  had  called  themselves 
relatives  of  their  mother’s  relatives,5  while  I shall  pre- 

1 Maine’s  Ancient  Law,  p.  120. 


DIFFICULTY  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 


3 


sently  show  that,  as  indeed  Mr.  McLennan  has  already 
pointed  out,  relationship  through  females  is  a common 
custom  of  savage  communities  all  over  the  world. 

But  though  our  information  with  reference  to  the  social 
and  moral  condition  of  the  lower  races  of  man  is  much 
more  considerable  than  Mr.  Maine  supposed,  it  is  certainly 
very  far  from  being  satisfactory  either  in  extent  or  in 
accuracy.  Travellers  naturally  find  it  far  easier  to  describe 
the  houses,  boats,  food,  dress,  weapons,  and  implements  of 
savages,  than  to  understand  their  thoughts  and  feelings. 
The  whole  mental  condition  of  a savage  is  so  different  from 
ours,  that  it  is  often  very  difficult  to  follow  what  is  passing 
in  his  mind,  or  to  understand  the  motives  by  which  he  is 
influenced.  Many  things  appear  natural  and  almost  self- 
evident  to  him,  which  produce  a very  different  impression 
on  us.  6 What ! 5 said  a negro  to  Burton,  ‘ am  I to  starve, 
while  my  sister  has  children  whom  she  can  sell?’ 

Though  savages  always  have  a reason,  such  as  it  is,  for 
what  they  do  and  what  they  believe,  their  reasons  often 
are  very  absurd.  Moreover,  the  difficulty  of  ascertaining 
what  is  passing  in  their  minds  is  of  course  much  enhanced 
by  the  difficulty  of  communicating  with  them.  This  has 
produced  many  laughable  mistakes.  Thus,  when  Labil- 
lardiere  enquired  of  the  Friendly  Islanders  the  word  for 
1,000,000,  they  seem  to  have  thought  the  question  absurd, 
and  gave  him  one  which  apparently  has  no  meaning; 
when  he  asked  for  10,000,000,  they  said  ‘ looole,’  which  I 
will  leave  unexplained;  for  100,000,000  ( laounoua,’  that 
is  to  say,  ‘ nonsense  ; 5 while  for  the  higher  numbers  they 
gave  him  certain  coarse  expressions,  which  he  has  gravely 
published  in  his  table  of  numerals. 

A mistake  made  by  Dampier  led  to  more  serious  results. 
He  had  met  some  Australians,  and  apprehending  an  at- 
tack, he  Bays  : — ‘ I discharged  my  gun  to  scare  them,  but 


4 


INACTIVITY  OF  THE 


avoided  shooting  any  of  them  ; till  finding  the  young  man 
in  great  danger  from  them,  and  myself  in  some,  and  that 
though  the  gun  had  a little  frightened  them  at  first,  yet 
they  had,  soon  learnt  to  despise  it , tossing  up  their  hands, 
and  crying,  “ pooh,  pooh,  pooh ; 55  and  coming  on  afresh 
with  a great  noise,  I thought  it  high  time  to  charge  again, 
and  shoot  one  of  them,  which  I did.  The  rest,  seeing  him 
fall,  made  a stand  again,  and  my  young  man  took  the 
opportunity  to  disengage  himself,  and  come  off  to  me ; my 
other  man  also  was  with  me,  who  had  done  nothing  all 
this  while,  having  come  out  unarmed;  and  I returned 
back  with  my  men,  designing  to  attempt  the  natives  no 
farther,  being  very  sorry  for  what  had  happened  already.5 1 
Pooh,  pooh,  however,  or  puff,  puff,  is  the  name  which 
savages,  like  children,  naturally  apply  to  guns. 

Another  source  of  error  is  that  savages  are  often  re- 
luctant to  contradict  what  is  said  to  them.  Thus  Mr, 
Oldfield,2  speaking  of  the  Australians,  tells  us  : — c I have 
found  this  habit  of  non-contradiction  to  stand  very  much 
in  my  way  when  making  enquiries  of  them;  for,  as  my 
knowledge  of  their  language  was  only  sufficient  to  enable 
me  to  seek  information  on  some  points  by  putting  sugges- 
tive questions,  in  which  they  immediately  concurred,  I was 
frequently  driven  nearly  to  my  wits5  end  to  arrive  at  the 
truth.  A native  once  brought  me  in  some  specimens  of 
a species  of  eucalyptus,  and  being  desirous  of  ascertaining 
the  habit  of  the  plant,  I asked,  “ A tall  tree  ? 55  to  which 
his  ready  answer  was  in  the  affirmative.  Not  feeling  quite 
satisfied,  I again  demanded,  “ A low  bush  ? 55  to  which 
“ yes 55  was  also  the  response.5 

Again,  the  mind  of  the  savage,  like  that  of  the  child, 
is  easily  fatigued,  and  he  will  then  give  random  answers  to 

1 Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  yoI.  xi.  p.  473.  2 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  iii.  p.  255, 


SAVAGE  INTELLECT. 


5 


spare  himself  the  trouble  of  thought.  Speaking  of  the 
Ahts  (N.W.  America),  Mr.  Sproat1 *  says: — ‘The  native 
mind,  to  an  educated  man,  seems  generally  to  be  asleep ; 
and,  if  you  suddenly  ask  a novel  question,  you  have  to 
repeat  it  while  the  mind  of  the  savage  is  awaking,  and  to 
speak  with  emphasis  until  he  has  quite  got  your  meaning. 
This  may  partly  arise  from  the  questioner’s  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  language;  still,  I think,  not  entirely, 
as  the  savage  may  be  observed  occasionally  to  become 
forgetful,  when  voluntarily  communicating  information. 
On  his  attention  being  fully  aroused,  he  often  shows 
much  quickness  in  reply  and  ingenuity  in  argument.  But 
a short  conversation  wearies  him,  particularly  if  questions 
are  asked  that  require  efforts  of  thought  or  memory  on 
his  part.  The  mind  of  the  savage  then  appears  to  rock 
to  and  fro  out  of  mere  weakness,  and  he  tells  lies  and  talks 
nonsense.5 

‘ I frequently  enquired  of  the  negroes,5  says  Park,  ‘ what 
became  of  the  sun  during  the  night,  and  whether  we 
should  see  the  same  sun,  or  a different  one,  in  the 
morning ; but  I found  that  they  considered  the  question 
as  very  childish.  The  subject  appeared  to  them  as  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  investigation ; they  had  never 
indulged  a conjecture,  nor  formed  any  hypothesis,  about 
the  matter.5  2 

Such  ideas  are,  in  fact,  entirely  beyond  the  mental 
range  of  the  lower  savages,  whose  extreme  mental  in- 
feriority we  have  much  difficulty  in  realising. 

Speaking  of  the  wild  men  in  the  interior  of  Borneo,  Mr. 
Dalton  says  that 3 they  are  found  living  ‘ absolutely  in  a 
state  of  nature,  who  neither  cultivate  the  ground,  nor  live 

1 Scenes  and  Studies  of  Savage  3 Moor’s  Notices  of  the  Indian 

Life,  p.  120.  Army,  p.  49.  See  also  Keppel’s  Ex- 

* Park’s  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  265.  pedition  to  Borneo,  vol.  ii.  p.  x. 


6 


CONDITION  OF  THE 


in  huts;  who  neither  eat  rice  nor  salt,  and  who  do  not 
associate  with  each  other,  hnt  rove  about  some  woods,  like 
wild  beasts ; the  sexes  meet  in  the  jungle,  or  the  man 
carries  away  a woman  from  some  campong.  When  the 
children  are  old  enough  to  shift  for  themselves,  they 
usually  separate,  neither  one  afterwards  thinking  of  the 
other : at  night  they  sleep  under  some  large  tree,  the 
branches  of  which  hang  low.  On  these  they  fasten  the 
children  in  a kind  of  swing  ; around  the  tree  they  make  a 
fire  to  keep  off  the  wild  beasts  and  snakes, — they  cover 
themselves  with  a piece  of  bark,  and  in  this  also  they  wrap 
their  children ; it  is  soft  and  warm,  but  will  not  keep  out 
the  rain.  The  poor  creatures  are  looked  on  and  treated 
by  the  other  Dyaks  as  wild  beasts/ 

Lichtenstein  thus  describes  a Bushman  : — c One  of  our 
present  guests,  who  appeared  about  fifty  years  of  age, 
who  had  grey  hair  and  a bristly  beard,  whose  forehead, 
nose,  cheeks,  and  chin  were  all  smeared  over  with  black 
grease,  having  only  a white  circle  round  the  eye  washed 
clean  with  the  tears  occasioned  by  smoking — this  man  had 
the  true  physiognomy  of  the  small  blue  ape  of  Caffraria. 
What  gives  the  more  verity  to  such  a comparison  was 
the  vivacity  of  his  eyes,  and  the  flexibility  of  his  eyebrows, 
which  he  worked  up  and  down  with  every  change  of 
countenance.  Even  his  nostrils  and  the  corners  of  his 
mouth,  nay  his  very  ears,  moved  involuntarily,  express- 
ing his  hasty  transitions  from  eager  desire  to  watch- 
ful distrust.  There  was  not,  on  the  contrary,  a single 
feature  in  his  countenance  that  evinced  a consciousness  of 
mental  powers,  or  anything  that  denoted  emotions  of  the 
mind  of  a milder  species  than  what  belong  to  man  in  his 
mere  animal  nature.  When  a piece  of  meat  was  given  him, 
and  half  rising  he  stretched  out  a distrustful  arm  to  take 
it,  he  snatched  it  hastily,  and  stuck  it  immediately  into 


LOWEST  RACES  OF  MEN. 


7 


the  fire,  peering  around  with,  his  little  keen  eyes,  as  if 
fearing  lest  some  one  should  take  it  away  again  : — all 
this  was  done  with  such  looks  and  gestures,  that  anyone 
must  have  been  ready  to  swear  he  had  taken  the  example 
of  them  entirely  from  an  ape.  He  soon  took  the  meat 
from  the  embers,  wiped  it  hastily  with  his  right  hand  upon 
his  left  arm,  and  tore  out  large  half-raw  bits  with  his 
teeth,  which  I could  see  going  entire  down  his  meagre 
throat.51 

Under  these  circumstances  it  cannot  be  wondered  that 
we  have  most  contradictory  accounts  as  to  the  character 
and  mental  condition  of  savages.  Nevertheless,  by  com- 
paring together  the  accounts  of  different  travellers,  we 
can  to  a great  extent  avoid  these  sources  of  error ; and 
we  are  very  much  aided  in  this  by  the  remarkable  simi- 
larity between  different  races.  So  striking  indeed  is  this, 
that  different  races  in  similar  stages  of  development  often 
present  more  features  of  resemblance  to  one  another 
than  the  same  race  does  to  itself,  in  different  stages  of 
its  history. 

Some  ideas,  indeed,  which  seem  to  us  at  first  inexplicable 
and  fantastic  are  yet  very  widely  distributed.  Thus  among 
many  races  a woman  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  speak  to 
her  son-in-law.  Franklin 2 tells  us  that  among  the 
American  Indians  of  the  far  North,  ‘ it  is  considered 
extremely  improper  for  a mother-in-law  to  speak  or  even 
look  at  him  ; and  when  she  has  a communication  to  make 
to  him,  it  is  the  etiquette  that  she  should  turn  her  back 
upon  him,  and  address  him  only  through  the  medium  of  a 
third  person.3 

Further  south  among  the  Omahaws,  c neither  the  father  - 
in-law  nor  mother-in-law  will  hold  any  direct  communica- 

1 Lichtenstein,  yoI.  ii.  p.  224. 

2 Journey  to  the  Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  137. 


8 


CURIOUS  CUSTOMS  WITH  REFERENCE  TO 


tion  with  their  son-in-law ; nor  will  he,  on  any  occasion,  or 
under  any  consideration,  converse  immediately  with  them, 
although  no  ill  will  exists  between  them ; they  will  not,  on 
any  account,  mention  each  other’s  name  in  company,  nor 
look  in  each  other’s  faces ; any  conversation  that  passes 
between  them  is  conducted  through  the  medium  of  some 
other  person.’ 1 

Harmon  says  that  among  the  Indians  east  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains  the  same  rule  prevails.  Lafitau,2  indeed,  makes 
the  same  statements  as  regards  the  North  American 
Indians  generally.  We  find  it  among  the  Crees  and 
Dacotahs  and  again  in  Florida.  Eochefort  mentions  it 
among  the  Caribs,  and  in  South  America  it  recurs  among 
the  Arawaks. 

In  Asia  among  the  Mongols  and  Calmucks  a woman 
must  not  speak  to  her  father-in-law  nor  sit  down  in  his 
presence.  Among  the  Ostiaks 3 of  Siberia,  ‘ une  fille 
mariee  evite  autant  qu’l  lui  est  possible  la  presence  du 
pere  de  son  mari,  tant  qu’elle  n’a  pas  d’enfant;  et  le 
mari,  pendant  ce  terns,  n’ose  pas  paroitre  devant  la  mere 
de  sa  femme.  S’ils  se  rencontrent  par  hasard,  le  mari 
lui  tourne  le  dos,  et  la  femme  se  couvre  le  visage.  On 
ne  donne  point  de  nom  aux  filles  Ostiakes;  lorsqu’elles 
sont  mariees,  les  hommes  les  nomment  Imi,  femmes.  Les 
femmes,  par  respect  pour  leurs  maris,  ne  les  appellent 
pas  par  leur  nom ; elles  se  servent  du  mot  de  Tahe, 
hommes.’ 

In  China,  according  to  Duhalde,  the  father-in-law,  after 
the  wedding  day,  c never  sees  the  face  of  his  daughter-in- 
law  again,  he  never  visits  her,’  and  if  they  chance  to  meet 

1 James’s  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  8 Pallas,  yoL  iv.  pp.  71,  577.  He 

Mountains,  yoI.  i.  p.  232.  makes  the  same  statement  with  refer- 

2 Mceurs  des  Sauvages  Am^ricains,  ence  to  the  Samoyedes,  loc , cit.  p.  99. 
Yol.  i.  p.  576. 


MOTHERS-IN-LAW. 


9 


he  hides  himself.1  A similar  custom  prevails  in  Borneo 
and  in  the  Fiji  Islands.  In  Australia  Eyre  states  that  a 
man  must  not  pronounce  the  name  of  his  father-in-law 
his  mother-in-law,  or  his  son-in-law. 

In  Central  Africa  Caillie2  observes  that,  ‘From  this 
moment  the  lover  is  not  to  see  the  father  and  mother  of 
his  future  bride : he  takes  the  greatest  care  to  avoid 
them,  and  if  by  chance  they  perceive  him  they  cover 
their  faces,  as  if  all  ties  of  friendship  were  broken.  I 
tried  in  vain  to  discover  the  origin  of  this  whimsical  cus- 
tom ; the  only  answer  I could  obtain  was,  “ It  is  our  way.” 
The  custom  extends  beyond  the  relations;  if  the  lover 
is  of  a different  camp,  he  avoids  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
lady’s  camp,  except  a few  intimate  friends  whom  he  is 
permitted  to  visit.  A little  tent  is  generally  set  up  for 
him,  under  which  he  remains  all  day,  and  if  he  is  obliged 
to  come  out,  or  to  cross  the  camp,  he  covers  his  face.  He 
is  not  allowed  to  see  his  intended  during  the  day,  but, 
when  everybody  is  at  rest,  he  creeps  into  her  tent  and 
remains  with  her  till  daybreak.’  While  among  the  Bush- 
men in  the  far  South,  Chapman  recounts  exactly  the  same 
thing,  yet  none  of  these  observers  had  any  idea  how 
general  the  custom  is. 

Mr.  Tyler,  who  has  some  very  interesting  remarks  on 
these  customs  in  his  6 Early  History  of  Man,’  observes 
that  ‘ it  is  hard  even  to  guess  what  state  of  things  can 
have  brought  them  into  existence,’  nor,  so  far  as  I am 
aware,  has  anyone  else  attempted  to  explain  them.  In 
the  Chapter  on  Marriage  I shall,  however,  point  out  the 
manner  in  which  1 conceive  that  they  have  arisen. 

Another  curious  custom  is  that  known  in  Bearn  under 

1 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  91. 

2 Caillie’s  Travels  to  Timbuctoo,  vol.  i.  p.  94. 


2 


10 


LA  COUVADE. 


the  name  of  La  Couvade.  Probably  every  Englishman 
who  bad  not  studied  other  races  would  assume,  as  a mat- 
ter of  course,  that  on  the  birth  of  a child  the  mother  would 
everywhere  be  put  to  bed  and  nursed.  But  this  is  not  the 
case.  In  many  races  the  father,  and  not  the  mother,  is 
doctored  when  a baby  is  born. 

Yet  though  this  custom  seems  so  ludicrous  to  us,  it  is 
very  widely  distributed.  Commencing  with  South  America, 
Dobritzhoffer  tells  us  that  6 ~No  sooner  do  you  hear  that 
a woman  has  borne  a child,  than  you  see  the  husband 
lying  in  bed,  huddled  up  with  mats  and  skins,  lest  some 
ruder  breath  of  air  should  touch  him,  fasting,  kept  in 
private,  ^md  for  a number  of  days  abstaining  religiously 
from  certain  viands  ; you  would  swear  it  was  he  who  had 
had  the  child.  ...  I had  read  about  this  in  old  times, 
and  laughed  at  it,  never  thinking  I could  believe  such 
madness,  and  I used  to  suspect  that  this  barbarian  custom 
was  related  more  in  jest  than  in  earnest ; but  at  last  T 
saw  it  with  my  own  eyes  among  the  Abipones.5 

In  Brazil  among  the  Coroados,  Martius  tells  us  that  ‘ As 
soon  as  the  woman  is  evidently  pregnant,  or  has  been  de- 
livered, the  man  withdraws.  A strict  regimen  is  observed 
before  the  birth ; the  man  and  the  woman  refrain  for  a 
time  from  the  flesh  of  certain  animals  and  live  chiefly  on 
fish  and  fruits.5 1 

Further  north,  in  Guiana,  Mr.  Brett2  observes  that  some 
of  the  men  of  the  Acawoio  and  Caribi  nations,  when 
they  have  reason  to  expect  an  increase  of  their  families, 
consider  themselves  bound  to  abstain  from  certain  kinds 
of  meat,  lest  the  expected  child  should,  in  some  very 
mysterious  way,  be  injured  by  their  partaking  of  it.  The 
A 'ouri  (or  Agouti)  is  thus  tabooed,  lest,  like  that  little 

1 Spix  and  Martins’s  Travels  in  Brazil,  vol.  ii.  p.  247. 

* Brett’s  Indian  Tribes  of  Guiana,  p.  355. 


LA  COUVADE. 


11 


animal,  the  child  should  be  meagre the  Haimara,  also, 
lest  it  should  be  blind — the  outer  coating  of  the  eye  of 
that  fish  suggesting  film  or  cataract ; the  Ldbba , lest  the 
infant’s  mouth  should  protrude  like  the  labba’s,  or  lest  it 
be  spotted  like  the  labba,  which  spots  would  ultimately 
become  ulcers.  The  Marudi  is  also  forbidden,  lest  the 
infant  be  still-born,  the  screeching  of  that  bird  being  con- 
sidered ominous  of  death.5  And  again  : — ‘ On  the  birth  of 
a child,  the  ancient  Indian  etiquette  requires  the  father  to 
tak$  to  his  hammock,  where  he  remains  some  days  as  if  he 
were  sick,  and  receives  the  congratulations  and  condolence 
of  his  friends.  An  instance  of  this  custom  came  under  my 
own  observation;  where  the  man,  in  robust  health  and 
excellent  condition,  without  a single  bodily  ailment,  was 
lying  in  his  hammock  in  the  most  provoking  manner ; and 
carefully  and  respectfully  attended  by  the  women,  while 
the  mother  of  the  new-born  infant  was  cooking — none 
apparently  regarding  her ! 5 1 

Similar  statements  have  been  made  by  various  other 
travellers,  including  De  Tertre,  Giliz,  Biet,  Fermin,  and  in 
fact  almost  all  who  have  written  on  the  natives  of  South 
America. 

In  Greenland,  after  a woman  is  confined,  the  ‘ husband 
must  forbear  working  for  some  weeks,  neither  must  they 
drive  any  trade  during  that  time ; 5 2 in  Kamskatka,  for 
some  time  before  the  birth  of  a baby,  the  husband  must 
do  no  hard  work.  Similar  notions  occur  among  the 
Chinese  of  West  Yunnan,  among  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo,  in 
the  north  of  Spain,  in  Corsica,  and  in  the  south  of  France 
where  it  is  called  4 faire  la  Couvade.5  While,  however,  I 
regard  this  curious  custom  as  of  much  ethnological 
interest,  I cannot  agree  with  Mr.  Tyler  in  regarding  it  as 
evidence  that  the  races  by  whom  it  is  practised  belong  to 


* Brett,  loc.  cit.  p.  101. 


2 Egede’s  Greenland,  p.  196. 


12 


REASON  FOR  LA  COUVADE. 


one  variety  of  the  human  species.1  On  the  contrary,  I 
believe  that  it  originated  independently,  in  several  dis- 
tinct parts  of  the  world. 

It  is  of  course  evident*  that  a custom  so  ancient,  and  so 
widely  spread,  must  have  its  origin  in  some  idea  which 
satisfies  the  savage  mind.  Several  have  been  suggested. 
Professor  Max  Muller, 2 in  his  c Chips  from  a German 
Workshop/  says  : — ‘ It  is  clear  that  the  poor  husband  was 
at  first  tyrannized  over  by  his  female  relations,  and  after- 
wards frightened  into  superstition.  He  then  began  to 
make  a martyr  of  himself  till  he  made  himself  really  ill, 
or  took  to  his  bed  in  self-defence.  Strange  and  absurd  as 
the  Couvade  appears  at  first  sight,  there  is  something  in 
it  with  which,  we  believe,  most  mothers-in-law  can  sym- 
pathise.5 Lafitau3  regards  it  as  arising  from  a dim  re- 
collection of  original  sin,  rejecting  the  Carib  and  Abipon 
explanation,  which  I have  little  doubt  is  the  correct  one, 
that  they  do  it  because  they  believe  that  if  the  father 
engaged  in  any  rough  work,  or  was  careless  in  his  diet 
‘ cela  feroit  mal  a l’enfant,  et  que  cet  enfant  participeroit 
a tous  les  defauts  naturels  des  animaux  dont  le  pere  auroit 
mange.5 

This  idea,  namely,  that  a person  imbibes  the  characteris- 
tics of  an  animal  which  he  eats,  is  very  widely  distributed. 
Thus  the  Malays  at  Singapore  give  a large  price  for  the 
flesh  of  the  tiger,  not  because  they  like  it,  but  because 
they  believe  that  the  man  who  eats  tiger  c acquires  the 
sagacity  as  well  as  the  courage  of  that  animal.54  In 
ancient  times  those  who  wished  for  children  used  to  eat 
frogs,  because  that  animal  lays  so  many  eggs.5 

1 Lon.  cit.  p.  296.  4 Keppel’s  Visit  to  the  Indian 

2 Chips  from  a German  Workshop,  Archipelago,  p.  13. 

toI.  ii.  p.  281.  5 Inman’s  Ancient  Faiths  in 

3 Mceurs  des  Sauvages  Americains,  Ancient  Names,  p.  383. 
vol.  i.  p.  259. 


SAVAGE  IDEAS  ON  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  MIND.  13 

‘The  Dyaks  of  Borneo  have  a prejudice  against  the 
flesh  of  deer,  which  the  men  may  not  eat,  but  which 
is  allowed  to  women  and  children.  The  reason  given  for 
this  is,  that  if  the  warriors  eat  the  flesh  of  deer,  they  be- 
come as  faint-hearted  as  that  animal/  1 

The  Caribs  will  not  eat  the  flesh  of  pigs  or  of  tortoises, 
lest  their  eyes  should  become  as  small  as  those  of  these 
animals.2  The  Dacotahs  eat  the  liver  of  the  dog,  in  order 
to  possess  the  sagacity  and  bravery  of  that  animal.3  The 
Arabs*  also  impute  the  passionate  and  revengeful  character 
of  their  countrymen  to  the  use  of  camel’s  flesh.4 

Tyler  mentions 5 that  c an  English  merchant  in  Shang- 
hai, at  the  time  of  the  Taeping  attack,  met  his  Chinese 
servant  carrying  home  a heart,  and  asked  him  what  he 
had  got  there.  He  said  it  was  the  heart  of  a rebel,  and 
that  he  was  going  to  take  it  home  and  eat  it  to  make  him 
brave/  The  New  Zealanders,  after  baptising  an  infant, 
used  to  make  it  swallow  pebbles,  so  that  its  heart  might 
be  hard  and  incapable  of  pity.6 

Even  cannibalism  is  sometimes  due  to  this  idea,  and  the 
New  Zealanders  eat  their  most  formidable  enemies  partly 
for  this  reason.  It  is  from  the  same  kind  of  idea  that 
‘ eyebright/  because  the  flower  somewhat  resembles  an 
eye,  was  supposed  to  be  good  for  ocular  complaints. 

To  us  the  idea  seems  absurd.  Not  so  to  children.  I 
have  myself  heard  a little  girl  say  to  her  brother,  c If  you 
eat  so  much  goose  you  will  be  quite  silly ; 9 and  there  are 
perhaps  few  children  to  whom  the  induction  would  not 
seem  perfectly  legitimate. 

1 Keppel’s  Expedition  to  Borneo,  ii.  p.  80. 

vol.  i.  p.  231.  4 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages, 

2 Muller’ s Geschichte  der  Ameri-  vol.  ii.  p.  143. 

anischen  Urreligionem,  p.  221.  5 Early  History  of  Man,  p.  131. 

* Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  6 Yate’s  New  Zealand,  p.  82. 


14 


• CURIOUS  IDEAS  WITH 


From  tlie  same  notion  the  Esquimaux,  ‘ to  render 
barren  women  fertile  or  teeming,  take  old  pieces  of  the 
soles  of  our  shoes  to  hang  about  them ; for,  as  they  take 
our  nation  to  be  more  fertile,  and  of  a stronger  disposition 
of  body  than  theirs,  they  fancy  the  virtue  of  our  body 
communicates  itself  to  our  clothing/  1 

In  fact  savages  do  not  act  without  reason  any  more 
than  we  do,  though  their  reasons  may  often  be  bad  ones 
and  seem  to  us  singularly  absurd.  Thus  they  have  a great 
dread  of  having  their  portraits  taken.  The  better  the 
likeness,  the  worse  they  think  for  the  sitter ; so  much  life 
could  not  be  put  into  the  copy  except  at  the  expense  of 
the  original.  Once  when  a good  deal  annoyed  by  some 
Indians,  Kane  got  rid  of  them  instantly  by  threatening 
to  draw  them  if  they  remained.  Catlin  tells  an  amusing, 
but  melancholy  anecdote,  in  reference  to  this  feeling.  On 
one  occasion  he  was  drawing  a chief  named  Mahtocheega, 
in  profile.  This  when  observed  excited  much  commotion 
among  the  Indians : ‘ Why  was  half  his  face  left  out  ? 5 they 
asked ; ‘ Mahtocheega  was  never  ashamed  to  look  a white 
in  the  face/  Mahtocheega  himself  does  not  seem  to  have 
taken  any  offence,  but  Shonka,  6 the  Dog/  took  advantage 
of  the  idea  to  taunt  him.  c The  Englishman  knows/  he 
said,  c that  you  are  but  half  a man ; he  has  painted  but 
one-half  of  your  face,  and  knows  that  the  rest  is  good  for 
nothing/  This  view  of  the  case  led  to  a fight,  in  which 
poor  Mahtocheega  was  shot ; and  as  ill-luck  would  have 
it,  the  bullet  by  which  he  was  killed  tore  away  just 
that  part  of  the  face  which  had  been  omitted  in  the 
drawing. 

This  was  very  unfortunate  for  Mr.  Catlin,  who  had  great 
difficulty  in  making  his  escape,  and  lived  some  months 


1 Egede’s  Greenland,  p,  19E^ 


REFERENCE  TO  PORTRAITS. 


15 


after  in  fear  for  his  life ; nor  was  the  matter  settled  until 
both  Shonka  and  his  brother  had  been  killed  in  revenge 
for  the  death  of  Mahtocheega. 

Franklin  also  mentions  that  the  North  American  Indians 
‘ prize  pictures  very  highly,  and  esteem  any  they  can  get, 
however  badly  executed,  as  efficient  charms.5 1 

The  natives  of  Bornou  had  a similar  horror  of  being 
6 written they  said  * that  they  did  not  like  it ; that  the 
Sheik  did  not  like  it ; that  it  was  a sin ; and  I am  quite 
sure,  from  the  impression,  that  we  had  much  better  never 
have  produced  the  book  at  all.52  In  his  Travels  in  Lap- 
land  Sir  A.  de  C.  Brooke  says  : — ‘ I could  clearly  perceive3 
that  many  of  them  imagined  the  magical  art  to  be  con- 
nected with  what  I was  doing,  and  on  this  account  showed 
signs  of  uneasiness,  till  reassured  by  some  of  the  mer- 
chants. An  instance  of  this  happened  one  morning,  when 
a Laplander  knocked  at  the  door  of  my  chamber,  and 
entered  it,  as  they  usually  did,  without  further  ceremony. 
Having  come  to  Alten  to  Hammerfest  on  some  business, 
curiosity  had  induced  him,  previously  to  his  return,  to  pay 
the  Englishman  a visit.  After  a dram  he  seemed  quite  at 
his  ease ; and  producing  my  pencil,  I proceeded,  as  he 
stood,  to  sketch  his  portrait.  His  countenance  now 
immediately  changed,  and  taking  up  his  cap,  he  was  on 
the  point  of  making  an  abrupt  exit,  without  my  being  able 
to  conjecture  the  cause.  As  he  spoke  only  his  own  tongue, 
I was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  assistance  ; when  I found 
that  his  alarm  was  occasioned  by  my  employment,  which 
he  at  once  comprehended,  but  suspected  that,  by  obtaining 
a likeness  of  him,  I should  acquire  over  him  a certain 
power  and  influence  that  might  be  prejudicial.  He  there- 

1 Voyage  to  the  Polar  Seas,  vol.  ii.  vol.  i.  p.  275. 

p.  6.  3 Brooke’s  Lapland,  p.  354. 

2 Denham’s  Travels  in  Africa, 


16 


USE  OF  PRAYERS  AS  MEDICINE. 


fore  refused  to  allow  it,  and  expressed  a wish,  before  any 
other  steps  were  taken,  to  return  to  Alten,  and  ask  tlie 
permission  of  his  master/  Mr.  Ellis  mentions  the  exist- 
ence of  a similar  feeling  in  Madagascar.1 

We  can  hardly  wonder  that  writing  should  seem  to 
savages  even  more  magical  than  drawing.  Carver,  for 
instance,  allowed  the  North  American  Indians  to  open 
a book  as  often  as  and  wherever  they  pleased,  and  then 
told  them  the  number  of  leaves.  6 The  only  way  they 
could  account/  he  says,  ‘ for  my  knowledge,  was  by  con- 
cluding that  the  book  was  a spirit,  and  whispered  me 
answers  to  whatever  I demanded  of  it/  2 Further  south 
the  Minatarrees,  seeing  Catlin  intent  over  a copy  of  the 
‘ New  York  Commercial  Advertiser/  were  much  puzzled, 
but  at  length  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  a medi- 
cine-cloth for  sore  eyes.  One  of  them  eventually  bought 
it  for  a high  price.3 

This  use  of  writing  as  a medicine  prevails  largely  in 
Africa,  where  the  priests  or  wizards  write  a prayer  on  a 
piece  of ‘board,  wash  it  off  and  make  the  patient  drink  it. 
Caillie,4  met  with  a man  who  had  a great  reputation  for 
sanctity,  and  who  made  his  living  by  writing  prayers  on  a 
board,  washing  them  off,  and  then  selling  the  water,  which 
was  sprinkled  over  various  objects,  and  supposed  to  im- 
prove or  protect  them. 

Mungo  Park  on  one  occasion  profited  by  this  idea.  6 A 
Bambarran  having/  he  says,  ‘ heard  that  I was  a Christian, 
immediately  thought  of  procuring  a saphie ; and  for  this 
purpose  brought  out  his  walha  or  writing-board,  assuring 
me  that  he  would  dress  me  a supper  of  rice,  if  I would 
write  him  a saphie  to  protect  him  from  wicked  men.  The 

1 Three  Visits  to  Madagascar,  p.  358.  3 American  Indians,  vol.  ii.  p.  92. 

2 Travels,  p.  2 55.  4 Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  262. 


SAVAGE  IDEAS  OF  DISEASE. 


17 


proposal  was  of  too  great  consequence  to  me  to  be  refused  s 
I therefore  wrote  the  board  full  from  top  to  bottom  on  both 
sides ; and  my  landlord,  to  be  certain  of  having  the  whole 
force  of  the  charm,  washed  the  writing  from  the  board 
into  a calabash  with  a little  water,  and  having  said  a few 
prayers  over  it,  drank  this  powerful  draught ; after  which, 
lest  a single  word  should  escape,  he  licked  the  board  until 
it  was  quite  dry.51 

In  Africa,  the  prayers  written  as  medicine  or  as  amulets 
are  generally  taken  from  the  Koran.  It  is  admitted  that 
they  are  no  protection  from  firearms,  but  this  does  not 
the  least  weaken  the  faith  in  them,  because,  as  guns  were 
not  invented  in  Mahomet’s  time,  he  naturally  provided  no 
specific  against  them.1 2 

Among  the  Kirghiz  also,  Atkinson  tells  us  that  the 
Mullas  sell  similar  amulets,  c at  the  rate  of  a sheep  for 
each  scrap  of  paper.’3 

The  science  of  medicine  indeed,  like  that  of  astronomy, 
and  like  religion,  takes  among  savages  very  much  the 
character  of  witchcraft.  Ignorant  as  they  are  of  the  pro- 
cesses by  which  life  is  maintained,  of  anatomy  and  of 
physiology,  the  true  nature  of  disease  does  not  occur  to 
them.  Many  savage  races  do  not  believe  in  natural  death, 
and  if  a man,  however  old,  dies  without  being  wounded, 
conclude  that  he  must  have  been  the  victim  of  magic. 

Thus  then,  when  a savage  is  ill,  he  naturally  attributes 
his  sufferings  to  some  enemy  within  him,  or  to  some  foreign 
object,  and  the  result  is  a peculiar  system  of  treatment 
which  is  very  curious  both  for  its  simplicity  and  uni- 
versality. 

‘ It  is  remarkable  in  the  Abiponian  (Paraguay)  phy- 

1 Park’s  Travels,  vol.  i.  pp.  357.  vo\  ii.  p.  35. 

See  also  p.  56.  8 Siberia,  p.  310. 

* Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages, 


18 


MEDICAL  TREATMENT 


sicians/  says  Father  Dobritzhoffer,1  ‘that  they  cure  every 
kind  of  disease  with  one  and  the  same  medicine.  Let  us  ex- 
amine this  method  of  healing.  They  apply  their  lips  to  the 
part  affected,  and  suck  it,  spitting  after  every  suction.  At 
intervals  they  draw  up  their  breath  from  the  very  bottom 
of  their  breast  and  blow  upon  that  part  of  the  body  which 
is  in  pain.  That  blowing  and  sucking  are  alternately  re- 
peated . . . This  method  of  healing  is  in  use  amongst  all 
the  savages  of  Paraguay  and  Brazil  that  I am  acquainted 
with,  and,  according  to  Father  Jean  Grillet,  amongst  the 
Galibe  Indians.  . . . The*  Abipones,  still  more  irrational, 
expect  sucking  and  blowing  to  rid  the  body  of  whatever 
causes  pain  or  inconvenience.  This  belief  is  constantly 
fostered  by  the  jugglers  with  fresh  artifices.  For  when 
they  prepare  to  suck  the  sick  man,  they  secretly  put  thorns, 
beetles,  worms,  &c.  into  their  mouths,  and  spitting  them 
out,  after  having  sucked  for  some  time,  say  to  him,  point- 
ing to  the  worm  or  thorn,  “ See  here  the  cause  of  your 
disorder.”  At  this  sight  the  sick  man  revives,  when  he 
thinks  the  enemy  that  has  tormented  him  is  at  length 
expelled.5 

At  first  one  might  almost  be  disposed  to  think  that  some 
one  had  been  amusing  himself  at  the  expense  of  the 
worthy  father,  but  we  shall  find  the  very  same  mode  of 
treatment  among  other  races.  Martius  tells  us  that  the 
cures  of  the  Guaycurus  (Brazil)  ‘ are  very  simple,  and 
consist  principally  in  fumigating  or  in  sucking  the  part 
affected,  on  which  the  Paye  spits  into  a pit,  as  if  he 
would  give  back  the  evil  principle  which  he  has  sucked 
out,  to  the  earth  and  bury  it.52  Father  Baegert  mentions 
that  the  Californian  sorcerers  suck  and  blow  upon  those 
who  are  ill,  and  finally  show  them  some  small  object, 
which  they  assure  them  has  been  extracted,  and  which 
was  the  cause  of  the  pain.  Wilkes  thus  describes  a scene 

1 History  of  the  Abipones,  toI.  ii.  p.  249. 

2 Travels  in  Brazil,  vol.  ii.  p.  77. 


AMONG  SAVAGES, 


19 


at  Wallawalla  on  the  Columbia  Kiver : — 4 The  doctor,  who 
was  a woman,  bending  over  the  body,  began  to  suck  his 
neck  and  chest  in  different  parts,  in  order  more  effectually 
to  extract  the  bad  spirit.  She  would  every  now  and  then 
seem  to  obtain  some  of  the  disease  and  then  faint  away. 
On  the  next  morning  she  was  still  found  sucking  the  boy’s 
chest.  ...  So  powerful  was  the  influence  operated  on  the 
boy  that  he  indeed  seemed  better.  . . . The  last  time  Mr. 
Drayton  visited  the  doctress,  she  exhibited  a stone,  about 
the  size  of  a goose’s  egg,  saying  that  she  had  taken  the 
disease  of  the  boy  out  of  him.’* 

Among  the  Prairie  Indians  also,  all  diseases  are  treated 
alike,  being  referred  to  one  cause,  viz.  the  presence  of  an 
evil  spirit,  which  must  be  expelled.  This  the  medicine- 
man 6 attempts,  in  the  first  place,  by  certain  incantations 
and  ceremonies,  intended  to  secure  the  aid  of  the  spirit  or 
spirits  he  worships,  and  then,  by  all  kinds  of  frightful 
noises  and  gestures,  and  sucking  over  the  seat  of  pain  with 
his  mouth.’2  Speaking  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Indians, 
Hearne  says: — 4 Here  it  is  necessary  to  remark,  that  they 
use  no  medicine  either  for  internal  or  external  complaints, 
but  perform  all  their  cures  by  charms.  In  ordinary  cases, 
sucking  the  part  affected,  blowing  and  singing.’3 

Again,  in  the  extreme  north,  Crantz  tells  us  that  among 
the  Esquimaux  old  women  are  accustomed  6 to  extract  from 
a swollen  leg  a parcel  of  hair  or  scraps  of  leather ; they  do 
it  by  sucking  with  their  mouth,  which  they  had  before 
crammed  full  of  such  stuff.’4  Passing  now  to  the  Lap- 
landers, we  are  told  that  if  anyone  among  them  is  ill,  a 
wizard  sucks  his  forehead  and  blows  in  his  face,  thinking 
thus  to  cure  him. 

1 United  States  Exploring  Expedi-  3 Voyage  to  the  Northern  Ocean, 

tion,  vol.  iv.  p.  400.  p.  189. 

2 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  i.  4 History  of  Greenland,  vol.L  p.23  4* 

g>.  250. 


20 


MEDICAL  TBEATMENT  AMONG  SAVAGES. 


Ill  South.  Africa,  Chapman  thus  describes  a similar 
custom  : a man  having  been  injured,  he  says,  ‘our  friend 
sucked  at  the  wound,  and  then  . . . extracted  from  his 
mouth  a lump  of  some  substance  which  was  supposed  to  be 
the  disease/  1 

In  Australia,  we  are  told  by  ex-GrOvemor  Eyre  in  his 
interesting  work,  that,  ‘ as  all  internal  pains  are  attributed 
to  witchcraft,  sorcerers  possess  the  power  of  relieving  or 
curing  them.  Sometimes  the  month  is  applied  to  the  sur- 
face where  the  pain  is  seated,  the  blood  is  sucked  out,  and 
a bunch  of  green  leaves  applied  to  the  part ; besides  the 
blood,  which  is  derived  from  the  gums  of  the  sorcerer,  a 
bone  is  sometimes  put  out  of  the  mouth,  and  declared  to 
have  been  procured  from  the  diseased  part;  on  other 
occasions  the  disease  is  drawn  out  in  an  invisible  form,  and 
burnt  in  the  fire,  or  thrown  into  the  water/ 2 

Another  curious  remedy  practised  by  the  Australians  is 
to  tie  a line  round  the  forehead  or  neck  of  the  patient, 
while  some  kind  friend  rubs  her  lips  with  the  other  end  of 
the  string,  until  they  bleed  freely ; this  blood  is  supposed 
to  come  from  the  patient,  passing  along  the  string.3 

Thus  then  we  find  all  over  the  world  this  primitive  cure 
by  sucking  out  the  evil,  which  perhaps  even  with  our- 
selves lingers  among  nurses  and  children  in  the  universal 
nursery  remedy  of  ‘ Kiss  it  and  make  it  well/ 

A dislike  of  twins  is  widely  distributed.  In  the  Island 
of  Bali4  (near  Java),  the  natives  ‘have  the  singular  idea, 
when  a woman  is  brought  to  bed  of  twins,  that  it  is  an 
unlucky  omen,  and  immediately  on  its  being  known,  the 
woman,  with  her  husband  and  children,  is  obliged  to  go 
and  live  on  the  sea-shore,  or  among  the  tombs,  for  the 

1 Travels  in  Africa,  vol.  ii.  p.  45.  3 English  Colony  in  New  South 

2 Discoveries  in  Central  Australia,  Wales,  pp.  363,  382. 

vol.  ii.  p.  360.  See  also  Oldfield’s  4 Moor’s  Notices  of  the  Indian 
Trans.  Etlin.  iii.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  p.  243.  Archipelago,  p.  96. 


FANCIES  ABOUT  TWINS. 


21 


space  of  a month,  to  purify  themselves,  after  which  they 
may  return  into  the  village  upon  a suitable  sacrifice  being 
made.  Thus  an  evidence  of  fertility  is  considered  by  them 
unfortunate,  and  the  poor  woman  and  her  new-born  babes 
are  exposed  to  all  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  out  of 
doors,  just  at  the  time  when  they  need  the  most  atten- 
tion.5 This  idea  is,  however,  far  from  being  peculiar  to 
that  island. 

Among  the  Khasias  of  Hindostan1  ‘in  the  case  of 
twins  being  born,  one  used  frequently  to  be  killed : it  is 
considered  unlucky,  and  also  degrading,  to  have  twins,  as 
they  consider  that  it  assimilates  them  with  the  lower 
animals.5 

Among  the  Ainos  of  Japan,2  when  twins  are  born,  one  is 
always  destroyed.  At  Arebo  in  Guinea,  Smith  and  Bosnian3 
tell  us  that  when  twins  are  born,  both  they  and  the  mother 
are  killed,  ‘ In  Nguru,  one  of  the  sister  provinces  to  Unyan- 
yembe,  twins  are  ordered  to  be  killed  and  thrown  into  the 
water  the  moment  they  are  born,  lest  droughts  and  famines 
or  floods  should  oppress  the  land.  Should  anyone  attempt 
to  conceal  twins,  the  whole  family  would  be  murdered.54 

The  American  Indians,5  also,  on  the  birth  of  twins  killed 
one ; perhaps  merely  under  the  idea  that  one  strong  child 
was  better  than  two  weak  ones. 

This  is  not  however,  I think,  the  general  cause  of  the 
prejudice  against  twins.  I should  rather  see  it  in  the 
curious  idea  that  one  man  would  only  have  one  child;  so 
that  twins  imply  infidelity  of  an  aggravated  character. 
Thus  in  the  introduction  to  the  curious  old  Chevalier 
Assigne,  or  Knight  of  the  Swan : — 

1 Steel,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  kerton,  vol.  xv.  p.  526.  Elsewhere 

vii.  p.  308.  in  Guinea  twins  are  welcomed. 

2 Bickmore,  Proc.  Bost.  Soc.  of  4 Speke’s  Discovery  of  the  Source 

Nat.  His.,  1867.  of  the  Nile,  pp.  541,  542. 

3 Voyage  to  Guinea,  p.  233.  Pin-  5 Lafitau  vol.  i.  p.  592. 


22 


LIFE  ATTRIBUTED  TO 


The  king  and  queen  are  sitting  on  the  wall  together : 

The  kynge  loked  adowne,  and  byhelde  under, 

And  seygh  a pore  womman,  at  the  yate  sytte, 

Withe  two  chylderen  her  byfore,  were  borne  at  a byrthe ; 

And  he  turned  hym  thenne,  and  teres  lette  he  falle. 

Sythen  sykede  he  on  hyghe,  and  to  the  qwene  sayde, 

Se  ye  the  yonder  pore  womman.  Now  that  she  is  pyned 
With  twynlenges  two,  and  that  dare  I my  hedde  wedde. 

The  qwene  nykked  him  with  nay,  and  seyde  it  is  not  to  leve  : 

Oon  manne  for  oon  chylde,  and  two  wymmen  for  tweyne  ; 

Or  ellis  hit  were  unsemelye  thynge,  as  me  wolde  thenke, 

But  eche  chylde  hadde  a fader,  how  manye  so  ther  were.1 

Since  reading  this  I have  found  that  the  very  same  idea 
occurs  in  Guinea.2 

Some  curious  ideas  prevalent  among  savages  arise  from 
the  fact  that  as  their  own  actions  are  due  to  life,  so  they 
attribute  life  even  to  inanimate  objects.  Even  Plato  as- 
sumed that  every  thing  which  moves  itself  must  have 
a soul,  and  hence  that  the  world  must  have  a soul. 
Hearne  tells  us  that  the  North  American  Indians  prefer 
a hook  that  has  caught  a big  fish  to  a handful  that  have 
never  been  tried.  And  that  they  never  put  two  nets 
together  for  fear  they  should  be  jealous.3 

The  Bushmen  thought  Chapman’s  big  waggon  was  the 
mother  of  his  smaller  ones ; they  ‘ despise  an  arrow  that  has 
once  failed  of  its  mark ; and  on  the  contrary,  consider  one 
that  has  hit  as  of  double  value.  They  will,  therefore,  rather 
make  new  arrows,  how  much  time  and  trouble  soever  it 
may  cost  them,  than  collect  those  that  have  missed,  and 
use  them  again,5  4 

The  natives  of  Tahiti  sowed  some  iron  nails  given  them 
by  Captain  Cook,  hoping  thus  to  obtain  young  ones.  They 

1 The  Romance  of  the  Chevelere  vol.,  we  find  a curious  variation  of 

Assigne,. edited  by  H.  H.  Gibbs,  Esq.  this  idea  among  the  Hottentots. 
Trubners,  1868.  3 Loc.  cit .,  p.  330. 

2 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  4 Lichtenstein’s  Travels  in  South 

vol.  iii,  p.  83.  At  p.  358  in  the  same  Africa,  vol.  ii  p.  271. 


INANIMATE  OBJECTS. 


23 


also  believe  that  * not  only  all  animals,  but  trees,  fruit,  and 
even  stones,  have  souls,  which  at  death  or  upon  being  con- 
sumed, or  broken,  ascend  to  the  divinity,  with  whom  they 
, first  mix,  and  afterwards  -pass  into  the  mansion  allotted  to 
each/ 

The  Tongans  were  of  opinion  that  ‘ if  an  animal  dies,1 
?ts  soul  immediately  goes  to  Bolotoo ; if  a stone  or  any 
other  substance  is  broken,  immortality  is  equally  its  re- 
ward ; nay,  artificial  bodies  have  equal  good  luck  with 
men,  and  hogs,  and  yams.  If  an  axe  or  a chisel  is  worn 
out  or  broken  up,  away  flies  its  soul  for  the  service  of  the 
gods.  If  a house  is  taken  down,  or  any  way  destroyed, 
its  immortal  part  will  find  a situation  on  the  plains  of 
Bolotoo/ 

Lichtenstein  relates  that  the  king  of  the  Coussa  Kaffirs 
having  broken  off  a piece  of  the  anchor  of  a stranded  ship, 
died  soon  afterwards ; upon  which  all  the  Kaffirs  made  a 
point  of  saluting  the  anchor  very  respectfully  whenever 
they  passed  near  it,  regarding  it  as  a vindictive  being. 

Some  similar  accident  probably  gave  rise  to  the  ancient 
Mohawk  notion  that  some  great  misfortune  would  happen 
if  anyone  spoke  on  Saratoga  Lake.  A strong-minded 
English  woman  on  one  occasion  while  being  ferried  over 
insisted  on  talking,  and,  as  she  got  over  safely,  rallied  her 
boatman  on  his  superstition ; but  I think  he  had  the  best 
of  it  after  all,  for  he  at  once  replied,  ‘ The  Great  Spirit  is 
merciful,  and  knows  that  a white  woman  cannot  hold  her 
tongue/ 2 

The  forms  of  salutation  among  savages  are  sometimes 
very  curious,  and  their  modes  of  showing  their  feelings 
quite  unlike  ours.  Kissing  appears  to  us  to  be  the 
natural  language  of  affection.  ‘ It  is  certain,5  said  Steele, 
‘ that  nature  was  its  author,  and  it  began  with  the  first 

1 Mariner’s  Tonga  Islands,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 

2 Burton’s  Abbeokuta,vol.i.  p.  198. 


24 


SALUTATIONS. 


courtship  : ’ but  this  seems  to  be  quite  a mistake ; in  fact 
it  was  unknown  to  the  Australians*  the  New  Zealanders, 
the  Papouans,  and  the  Esquimaux ; the  West  African 
negroes,  we  are  told,  do  not  like  it,  otherwise  I should 
have  thought  that  when  once  discovered,  it  would  have 
been  universally  popular. 

The  Polynesians  and  the  Malays  always  sit  down  when 
speaking  to  a superior ; a Chinaman  puts  on  his  hat  instead 
of  taking  it  off.  Cook  asserts  that  the  people  of  Mallicollo 
show  their  admiration  by  hissing,  and  the  same  is  the  case, 
according  to  Casalis,  among  the  Kaffirs.1  In  some  of  the 
Pacific  Islands,  and  some  parts  of  Africa,  it  is  considered 
respectful  to  turn  your  back  to  a superior.  The  Todas 
of  the  Neilgherry  Hills  are  said  to  show  respect  by  ‘ rais- 
ing the  open  right  hand  to  the  brow,  resting  the  thumb 
on  the  nose ; 5 and  it  has  been  asserted  that  in  one  tribe 
of  Esquimaux  it  is  customary  to  pull  a person’s  nose  as 
a compliment,  though  it  is  but  right  to  say  that  Dr.  Pae 
thinks  there  was  some  mistake  on  the  point ; on  the  other 
hand,  Dr.  Blackmore  mentions  that c the  sign  of  the  Arapa- 
hoes,  and  from  which  they  derive  their  name,’  consists  in 
seizing  the  nose  with  the  thumb  and  forefinger.2 

It  is  asserted  that  in  China,  a coffin  is  regarded  as  an 
appropriate  present  for  an  aged  relative,  especially  if  he 
be  in  bad  health. 


1 The  Easutos ; by  the  Key.  E.  Casalis,  p.  234. 

2 Trans.  Efchn.  Soc.,  1869,  p.  310. 


v- 

* 

V 


ANCIENT  SKETCH  OF  A MAMMOTH. 


CHAPTER  II. 


ART  AND  ORNAMENTS. 

THE  earliest  traces  of  art  yet  discovered  belong  to 
the  Stone  Age, — to  a time  so  early  that  the  Rein- 
deer was  abundant  in  the  south  of  Prance,  and  that 
probably,  though  on  this  point  there  is  some  doubt, 
even  the  mammoth  had  not  entirely  disappeared.  These 
works  of  art  are  sometimes  sculptures,  if  one  may  say  so, 
and  sometimes  drawings  or  etchings  made  on  bone  or 
horn  with  the  point  of  a flint. 

They  are  of  peculiar  interest,  both  as  being  the  earliest 
works  of  art  known  to  us, — older  than  any  Egyptian 
statues,  or  any  of  the  Assyrian  monuments,  and  also 
because,  though  so  ancient,  they  show  really  considerable 
skill.  There  is,  for  instance,  a certain  spirit  about  the 
subjoined  group  of  reindeer  (fig.  1),  copied  from  a specimen 
in  the  collection  of  the  Marquis  de  Yibraye.  The  mam- 
moth (PI.  I.)  represented  on  the  opposite  page,  though  less 
artistic,  is  perhaps  even  more  interesting.  It  is  scratched 
on  a piece  of  mammoth’s  tusk,  and  was  found  in  the  cave 
of  La  Madelaine  in  the  Dordogne. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  while  even  in  the  Stone 
Period  we  find  very  fair  drawings  of  animals,  yet  in  the 
latest  part  of  the  Stone  Age,  and  throughout  that  of 
Bronze,  they  are  almost  entirely  wanting,  and  the  ornamen- 


26 


ART  AS  AN 


tation  is  confined  to  various  combinations  of  straight  and 
curved  lines  and  geometrical  patterns.  This,  I believe, 
will  eventually  be  found  to  imply  a difference  of  race 
between  the  population  of  Western  Europe  at  these 


Fig.  1. 


GROUP  OF  REINDEER. 


different  periods.  Thus  at  present  the  Esquimaux  (see 
figs.  2-4)  are  very  fair  draughtsmen,  while  the  Poly- 
nesians, though  much  more  advanced  in  many  ways,  and 
though  very  skilful  in  ornamenting  both  themselves  and 
their  weapons,  have  very  little  idea  indeed  of  representing 
animals  or  plants.  Their  tattooings,  for  instance,  and 
the  patterns  on  their  weapons,  are,  like  the  ornaments 
of  the  Bronze  Age,  almost  invariably  of  a geometrical 
character.  Representations  of  animals  and  plants  are  not, 
indeed,  entirely  wanting ; but,  whether  attempted  in  draw- 
ing or  in  sculpture,  they  are  always  rude  and  grotesque. 
With  the  Esquimaux  the  very  reverse  is  the  case ; among 
them  we  find  none  of  those  graceful  spirals,  and  other 
geometrical  patterns,  so  characteristic  of  Polynesia ; but, 
on  the  other  hand*  their  weapons  are  often  covered  with 


ETCHINGS  ON  ESQUIMAUX  WEAPONS. 


28 


AKT  AS  AN 


representations  of  animals  and  hunting  scenes.  Thus 
Beechey,1  describing  the  weapons  of  the  Esquimaux  at 
Hotham’s  Inlet,  says  : — 

‘ On  the  outside  of  this  and  other  instruments  there  were 
etched  a variety  of  figures  of  men,  beasts,  birds,  &c.,  with 
a truth  and  character  which  showed  the  art  to  be  common 
among  them.  The  reindeer  were  generally  in  herds ; in 
one  picture  they  were  pursued  by  a man  in  a stooping 
posture,  in  snow-shoes ; in  another  he  had  approached 
nearer  to  his  game,  and  was  in  the  act  of  drawing  his 
bow.  A third  represented  the  manner  of  taking  seals 
with  an  inflated  skin  of  the  same  animal  as  a decoy ; it 
was  placed  upon  the  ice,  and  not  far  from  it  was  a man 
lying  upon  his  belly,  with  a harpoon  ready  to  strike  the 
animal  when  it  should  make  its  appearance.  Another  was 
dragging  a seal  home  upon  a small  sledge ; and  several 
baidars  were  employed  harpooning  whales  which  had  been 
previously  shot  with  arrows ; and  thus,  by  comparing  one 
with  another,  a little  history  was  obtained  which  gave  us 
a better  insight  into  their  habits  than  could  be  elicited 
from  any  signs  or  intimations.5  Some  of  these  drawings 
are  represented  in  figs.  2-4,  which  are  taken  from  speci- 
mens presented  by  Captain  Beechey  to  the  Ashmolean 
Museum  at  Oxford. 

Hooper  2 also  mentions  drawings  among  the  Tuski,  espe- 
cially c a sealskin  tanned  and  bleached  perfectly  white, 
ornamented  all  over  in  painting  and  staining  with  figures 
of  men,  boats,  animals,  and  delineations  of  whale-fishing, 
&c. — a valuable  curiosity.5 

In  the  same  way  we  may,  I think,  fairly  hope  eventually 
to  obtain  from  the  ancient  drawings  of  the  bone  caves  a 
better  insight  into  the  habits  of  our  predecessors  in 

1 Narrative  of  a Voyage  to  the  Pacific,  vol.  i.  p.  251. 

2 Tents  of  the  Tuski,  p.  65.  f 


ETHNOLOGICAL  CHARACTER. 


20 


Western  Europe ; to  ascertain,  for  instance,  whether  their 
reindeer  were  domesticated  or  wild.  As  yet,  however, 
mere  representations  of  animals  have  been  met  with,  and 
nothing  has  been  found  to  supplement  in  any  way  the 
evidence  derivable  from  the  implements,  &c. 

But  though  we  thus  find  art — simple,  indeed,  but  by 
no  means  contemptible — in  very  ancient  times,  and  among 
very  savage  tribes,  there  are  also  other  races  who  are 
singularly  deficient  in  it. 

Thus,  though  some  Australians  are  capable  of  making 
rude  drawings  of  animals,  &c.,  others  on  the  contrary,  as 
Oldfield  1 tells  us,  ‘ seem  quite  unable  to  realise  the  most 
vivid  artistic  representations.  On  being  shown  a large 
coloured  engraving  of  an  aboriginal  New  Hollander, 
one  declared  it  to  be  a ship,  another  a kangaroo,  and 
so  on ; not  one  of  a dozen  identifying  the  portrait  as 
having  any  connection  with  himself.  A rude  drawing, 
with  all  the  lesser  parts  much  exaggerated,  they  can 
realise.  Thus,  to  give  them  an  idea  of  a man,  the  head 
must  be  drawn  disproportionately  large/ 

Dr.  Collingwood,2  speaking  of  the  Kibalans  of  Formosa, 
to  whom  he  showed  a copy  of  the  ‘ Illustrated  London 
News,5  tells  us  that  he  found  it  ‘ impossible  to  interest 
them  by  pointing  out  the  most  striking  illustrations,  which 
they  did  not  appear  to  comprehend.5 

Denham,  in  his  ‘ Travels  in  Central  Africa,5  says  that 
Bookhaloom,  a man  otherwise  of  considerable  intelligence, 
though  he  readily  recognised  figures,  could  not  under- 
stand a landscape.  ‘ I could  not,5  he  says,  ‘make  him 
understand  the  intention  of  the  print  of  the  sand  wind 
in  the  desert,  which  is  really  so  well  described  by  Captain 
Lyon’s  drawing ; he  would  look  at  it  upside-down ; and 

1 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  iii.  p.  227. 

2 Ibid,  yoI.  vi.  p.  189. 


30 


ART  IN  AFRICA. 


when  I twice  reversed  it  for  him,  he  exclaimed,  “ Why ! 
why ! it  is  all  the  same.”  A camel  or  a human  figure 
was  all  I could  make  him  understand,  and  at  these  he 
was  all  agitation  and  delight — “ Gieb  ! gieb ! Wonder- 
ful ! wonderful ! 99  The  eyes  first  took  his  attention,  then 
the  other  features  ; at  the  sight  of  the  sword  he  exclaimed, 
“ Allah  ! Allah  ! 99  and,  on  discovering  the  guns,  instantly 
exclaimed,  “ Where  is  the  powder  ? ” 91 

So  also  the  Kaffir  has  great  difficulty  in  understanding 
drawings,  and  perspective  is  altogether  beyond  him. 
Central  and  Southern  Africa  seems,  indeed,  to  be  very 
backward  in  matters  of  art.  Still  the  negroes  are  not 
altogether  deficient  in  the  idea.  Their  idols  cannot  be 
called  indeed  works  of  art,  but  they  often  not  only  re- 
present men,  but  give  some  of  the  African  characteristics 
with  grotesque  fidelity. 

The  Kaffirs  also  can  carve  fair  representations  of 
animals  and  plants,  and  are  fond  of  doing  so.  The  handles 
of  their  spoons  are  often  shaped  into  unmistakeable  like- 
nesses of  giraffes,  ostriches,  and  other  animals. 

As  to  the  Bushmen,  we  have  rather  different  accounts. 
It  has  been  stated  by  some  that  they  have  no  idea  of  per- 
spective nor  how  a curved  surface  can  possibly  be  repre- 
sented on  a flat  piece  of  paper ; while,  on  the  contrary, 
other  travellers  assert  that  they  readily  recognise  drawings 
of  animals  or  flowers.  The  Chinese,  although  so  advanced 
in  many  ways,  are,  we  know,  very  deficient  in  the  idea  of 
perspective. 

Probably,  no  race  of  men  in  the  Stone  Age  had  at- 
tained the  art  of  communicating  facts  by  means  of  letters, 
nor  even  by  the  far  ruder  system  of  picture-writing ; nor 
does  anything,  perhaps,  surprise  the  savage  more  than  to 


1 Denham,  Travels  in  Africa,  vol.  i.  p.  1G7. 


THE  QUIPPU. 


31 


find  tliat  Europeans  can  communicate  with  one  another  by 
means  of  a few  black  scratches  on  a piece  of  paper. 

Even  the  Peruvians  had  no  better  means  of  recording 
events  than  the  Quippu  or  Quipu,  which  was  a cord  about 
two  feet  long,  to  which  a number  of  different  coloured 
threads  were  attached  in  the  form  of  a fringe.  These 
threads  were  tied  into  knots,  whence  the  name  Quippu 
meaning  a knot.  These  knots  served  as  cyphers,  and 
the  various  threads  had  also  conventional  meanings  at- 
tached to  them  and  indicated  by  the  various  colours. 
This  singular  and  apparently  very  cumbersome  mode  of 
assisting  the  memory  reappears  in  China  and  in  Africa. 
Thus,  ‘ As  to  1 the  original  of  the  Chinese  characters, 
before  the  commencement  of  the  monarchy,  little  cords 
with  sliding  knots,  each  of  which  had  its  particular 
signification,  were  used  in  transacting  business.  These 
are  represented  in  two  tables  by  the  Chinese , called  Ho-tu, 
and  Lo-shu.  The  first  colonies  who  inhabited  Se-chiven 
had  no  other  literature  besides  some  arithmetical  sets 
of  counters  made  with  little  knotted  cords,  in  imitation 
of  a string  of  round  beads  ; with  which  they  calculated 
and  made  up  all  tlieir  accounts  in  commerce/  Again, 
in  West  Africa,  we  are  told  that  the  people  of  Ardrali2 
‘ can  neither  write  nor  read.  They  use  small  cords  tied, 
the  knots  of  which  have  their  signification.  These  are 
also  used  by  several  savage  nations  in  America/  It 
seems  not  impossible  that  tying  a knot  in  a pocket- 
handkerchief  may  be  the  direct  lineal  representative  of 
this  ancient  and  widely  extended  mode  of  assisting  the 
memory. 

The  so-called  picture-writing  is,  however,  a great  ad- 
vance. Yet  from,  representations  of  hunts  in  general  such  as 
those  of  the  Esquimaux  (see  figs.  2-4),  it  is  indeed  but  a 

1 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  194. 

2 Ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  71. 


32 


PICTURE-WRITING. 


step  to  record  pictorially  some  particular  hunt.  Again,  the 
Esquimaux  almost  always  places  his  mark  on  his  arrows, 
but  I am  not  aware  that  any  Polynesian  ever  conceived  the 
idea  of  doing  so.  Thus  we  get  among  the  Esquimaux  a 
double  commencement,  as  it  were,  for  the  representation 
of  ideas  by  means  of  signs. 

This  art  of  pictorial  writing  was  still  more  advanced 
among  the  Red  Skins. 

Thus  Carver  tells  us  that  on  one  occasion  his  Chipeway 
guide  fearing  that  the  Naudowessies,  a hostile  tribe,  might 
accidentally  fall  in  with  and  attack  them,  ‘ peeled  the  bark 
from  a large  tree  near  the  entrance  of  a river,  and  with 
wood-coal  mixed  with  bear’s  grease,  their  usual  substitute 
for  ink,  made  in  an  uncouth  but  expressive  manner  the 
figure  of  the  town  of  the  Ottagaumies.  He  then  formed 
to  the  left  a man  dressed  in  skins,  by  which  he  intended 
to  represent  a Naudowessie  with  a line  drawn  from  his 
mouth  to  that  of  a deer,  the  symbol  of  the  Chipeways. 
After  this  he  depicted  still  farther  to  the  left  a canoe  as 
proceeding  up  the  river,  in  which  he  placed  a man  sitting 
with  a hat  on ; this  figure  was  designed  to  represent  an 
Englishman,  or  myself,  and  my  Frenchman  was  drawn 
with  a handkerchief  tied  round  his  head,  and  rowing  the 
canoe ; to  these  he  added  several  other  significant  em- 
blems, among  which  the  pipe  of  peace  appeared  painted 
on  the  prow  of  the  canoe.  The  meaning  he  intended  to 
convey  to  the  Naudowessies,  and  which  I doubt  not  ap- 
peared perfectly  intelligible  to  them,  was  that  one  of  the 
Chipeway  chiefs  had  received  a speech  from  some  Naudo- 
wessie  chiefs  at  the  town  of  the  Ottagaumies,  desiring  him 
to  conduct  the  Englishman,  who  had  lately  been  among 
them,  up  the  Chipeway  river  3 and  that  they  thereby  re- 
quired, that  the  Chipeway,  notwithstanding  he  was  an 
avowed  enemy,  should  not  be  molested  by  them  on  his 


INDIAN  CENSUS-KOLL, 


33 


Fig.  5. 


1 

II 

L 

3 

y 1 1 F ? 1 

mini 

ilm 

0^ 

111! 

7 

III 

nil 

10 

II 1 11 

u i 

I 

• 

1 1 1 

12 

1 1 1 I 

13 

m 

14  /* 

II 

i 

Mil 

in  i 

1 1 1 

19 

^tfnnTT 

1 

20  o 

f 

21 

111) 

23 

II 

11 

mi 

25 

1 

■ 

in 

i 

mm 

"O 

ii  it 

1 

ill 

111! 

111 

J 

88 

o> 

11 

34 

h| 

i m 1 1 

36 

INDIAN  CENSUS-ROLL, 


3 


34 


INDIAN  CENSUS-KOLL. 


passage,  as  lie  had  the  care  of  a person  whom  they  esteemed 
as  one  of  their  nation.5  1 

An  excellent  account  of  the  Red  Skin  pictorial  art 
is  given  by  Schoolcraft  in  his  ‘ History  of  the  Indian 
Tribes  in  the  United  States.5 

Tig.  5 represents  the  census-roll  of  an  Indian  band 
at  Mille  Lac,  in  the  territory  of  Minnesota,  sent  in  to  the 
United  States  agent  by  Nago-nabe,  a Chippewa  Indian, 
during  the  progress  of  the  annuity  payments  in  1849. 
The  Indians  generally  denote  themselves  by  their  6 totem  5 
or  family  sign,  but  in  this  case,  as  they  all  had  the  same 
totem,  he  had  designated  each  family  by  a sign  denoting 
the  common  name  of  the  Chief.  Thus  No.  5 denotes 
a Catfish,  and  the  six  strokes  indicate  that  the  Catfish’s 
family  consisted  of  six  individuals ; 8 is  a beaver  skin,  9 a 
sun,  13  an  eagle,  14  a snake,  22  a buffalo,  34,  an  axe, 
35  the  priest,  and  so  on. 

Fig.  6 is  the  record  of  a noted  chief  of  the  St.  Mary’s 
band,  called  Shin-ga-ba-was-sin,  or  the  Image-stone,  who 
died  on  Lake  Superior  in  1828.  He  was  of  the  totem  of  the 
crane,  as  indicated  by  the  figure.  The  six  strokes  on  the 
rio-ht,  and  the  three  on  the  left,  are  marks  of  honour.  The 
latter  represent  three  important  general  treaties  of  peace 
in  which  he  had  taken  part  at  various  times.2  Among  the 
former  marks  are  included  his  presence  under  Tecumseh, 
at  the  battle  of  Moraviantown,  where  he  lost  a brother. 

Fig.  7 represents  the  adjedatigor  tomb-board  of  Wabo- 
jeeg,  a celebrated  war-chief,  who  died  on  Lake  Superior, 
about  1793.  He  was  of  the  family  or  clan  of  the  reindeer. 
This  fact  is  symbolized  by  the  figure  of  the  deer.  The 
reverse  position  denotes  death.  His  own  personal  name, 
which  was  the  White  Fisher,  is  not  noticed.  The 


1 Carver’s  Travels,  p.  418. 


2 Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  i.  p.  357. 


INDIAN  TOMBSTONES. 


35 


seven  marks  on  the  left  denote  that  he  had  led  seven 
war  parties.  The  three  perpendicular  lines  below  the 
totem  represent  three  wounds  received  in  battle.  The 
figure  of  a moose’s  head  relates  to  a desperate  conflict 


with  an  enraged  animal  of  this  kind.  Fig.  8 is  copied 
from  a bark  letter  which  was  found  above  St.  Anthony’s 
Falls,  in  1820.  ‘It  consisted  of  white  birch  bark,  and 
the  figures  had  been  carefully  drawn.  No.  1 denotes 
the  flag  of  the  Union : No.  2 the  cantonment,  then  re- 
cently established  at  Cold  Spring,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  cliffs,  above  the  influx  of  the  St.  Peters  : No.  4 is  the 
symbol  of  the  commanding  officer  (Colonel  H.  Leaven- 
worth), under  whose  authority  a mission  of  peace  had  been 
sent  into  the  Chippewa  country:  No.  11  is  the  symbol  of 
Chakope,  or  the  Six,  the  leading  Sioux  chief,  under  whose 
orders  the  party  moved : No.  8 is  the  second  chief,  called 


Fig. 


Fig.  7. 


INDIAN  GRAVE  posts.  (Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  pi.  50.) 


36 


PICTURE-WRITING. 


Wabedatunka,  or  the  Black  Pog.  The  symbol  of  his 
name  is  No.  10;  he  has  fourteen  lodges.  No.  7 is  a chief, 
Fig  8 subordinate  to  Chakope, 

with  thirteen  lodges, 
and  a bale  of  goods 
(No.  9)  which  was  de- 
voted, by  the  govern- 
ment, to  the  objects  of 
the  peace.  The  name 
of  No.  6,  whose  wigwam 
is  No.  5,  with  thirteen 
subordinate  lodges,  was 
not  given.’ 1 

This  was  intended  to 
g imply  that  a party  of 
3 Sioux  headed  by  Cha- 


« kope  and  accompanied, 
” or  at  least  countenanced 
S by  Colonel  Leaven- 
worth,  had  come  to  this 
spot  in  the  hope  of 
meeting  the  Chippewa 
hunters  and  concluding 
a peace.  The  Chippewa 
chief  Babesacundabee, 
who  found  this  letter, 
read  off  its  meaning 
without  doubt  or  hesi- 
tation. 

On  one  occasion  a 
party  of  explorers  with 
two  Indian  guides,  saw  one  morning,  just  as  they  were 
about  to  start,  a pole  stuck  in  the  direction  they  were 
1 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  yol.  i.  pp.  352,  353. 


PICTURE-WRITING. 


37 


going,  and  holding  at  the  top  a piece  of  bark,  covered 
with  drawings,  which  were  intended  for  the  information 
of  any  other  Indians  who  might  pass  that  way.  This  is 
represented  in  fig.  9. 

No.  1 represents  the  subaltern  officer  in  command  of 
the  party.  He  is  drawn  with  a sword  to  denote  his  rank. 
No.  2 denotes  the  secretary.  He  is  represented  as  hold- 
ing a book,  the  Indians  having  -understood  him  to  be  an 
attorney.  No.  3 represents  the  geologist,  appropriately  in- 
dicated by  a hammer.  Nos.  4 and  5 are  attaches ; No.  6 
the  interpreter.  The  group  of  figures  marked  9 repre- 


PlG.  9. 


sents  seven  infantry  soldiers,  each  of  whom,  as  shown  in . 
group  No.  10,  was  armed  with  a musket.  No.  15  denotes 
that  they  had  a separate  fire,  and  constituted  a separate 
mess.  Figs.  7 and  8 represent  the  two  Chippewa  guides. 
These  are  the  only  human  figures  drawn  without  the 
distinguishing  symbol  of  a hat.  This  was  the  character- 
istic seized  on  by  them,  and  generally  employed  by  the 
Indians,  to  distinguish  the  Red  from  the  White  race.  Figs. 
11  and  12  represent  a prairie  hen  and  a green  tortoise, 
which  constituted  the  sum  of  the  preceding  day’s  chase, 
and  were  eaten  at  the  encampment.  The  inclination  of  the 
pole  was  designed  to  show  the  course  pursued ; and  there 
were  three  hacks  in  it  below  the  scroll  of  bark,  to  indicate 
the  estimated  length  of  this  part  of  the  journey,  com- 


38 


INDIAN  BIOGRAPHY. 


puting  from  water  to  water.  The  following  figure  (fig.  10) 
gives  the  biography  of  Wingemund,  a noted  chief  of 
the  Delawares.  1 shows  that  it  belonged  to  the  oldest 
branch  of  the  tribe,  which  use  the  tortoise  on  their 
symbol.  2 is  his  totem  or  symbol;  3 is  the  sun,  and 
the  ten  strokes  represent  ten  war  parties  in  which  he 
was  engaged.  Those  figures  on  the  left  represent  the 
captives  which  he  made  in  each  of  his  excursions,  the 


Fig.  10. 


men  being  distinguished  from  the  women,  and  the  cap- 
tives being  denoted  by  having  heads,  while  a man  with- 
out his  head  is  of  course  a dead  man.  The  central 
figures  represent  three  forts  which  he  attacked;  8 one 
on  lake  Erie,  9 that  of  Detroit,  and  10  Fort  Pitt  at  the 
junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  the  Monongahela.  The 
sloping  strokes  denote  the  number  of  his  followers.1 

Fig.  11  represents  a petition  presented  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  for  the  right  to  certain  Lakes  (8)  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Lake  Superior  (10). 

No  1 represents  Oshcabawis  the  leader,  who  is  of  the 


Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  353. 


II  'Vl& 


INDIAN  PETITION. 


39 


INDIAN  PETITION. 


40 


ROCK  SCULPTURES. 


Crane  clan.  The  eyes  of  his  followers  are  all  connected 
with,  his  to  symbolise  unity  of  views,  and  their  hearts  to 
denote  unity  of  feeling.  No  2 is  Wai-mit-tig-oazh,  whose 
totem  is  a Marten  2 No  3 is  Ogemageezhig,  also  a Marten ; 
4 is  another  Marten,  Muk-o-mis-ud-ains,  the  little  Tor- 
toise : 5 is  O-mush-kose,  the  little  Elk,  belonging  how- 
ever to  the  Bear  totem : 6 belongs  to  the  Manfish  totem  ; 
and  7 to  the  Catfish.  The  eye  of  the  leader  has  a line 
directed  forwards  to  the  President,  and  another  backwards 
to  the  Lakes  (8). 

In  some  places  of  Western  Europe,  rock  sculptures 
have  been  discovered,  to  which  we  cannot  yet  safely  ascribe 
any  meaning,  but  on  which  perhaps  the  more  complete 
study  of  the  picture-writing  of  modern  savages  may  event- 
ually throw  some  light. 

We  will  now  pass  to  art  as  applied  to  the  purposes  of 
personal  decoration.  Savages  are  passionately  fond  of 
ornaments.  In  some  of  the  very  lowest  races,  indeed,  the 
women  are  almost  undecorated,  but  that  is  only  because 
the  men  keep  all  the  ornaments  themselves.  As  a general 
rule  we  may  say  that  Southerners  ornament  themselves. 
Northerners  their  clothes.  In  fact  all  savage  races  who 
leave  much  of  their  skin  uncovered,  delight  in  painting 
themselves  in  the  most  brilliant  colours  they  can  obtain. 
Black,  white,  red,  and  yellow  are  the  favourite,  or, 
rather,  perhaps,  the  commonest  colours.  Although  per- 
fectly naked,  the  Australians  of  Botany  Bay  were  by  no 
means  without  ornaments.  They  painted  themselves  with 
red  ochre,  white  clay,  and  charcoal ; the  red  was  laid  on 
in  broad  patches,  the  white  generally  in  stripes,  or  on  the 
face  in  spots,  often  with  a circle  round  each  eye ; 1 through 
the  septum  of  the  nose  they  wore  a bone,  as  thick  as  a 
man’s  finger  and  five  or  six  inches  long.  This  was  of 

1 Ilawkes worth’s  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  635. 


SAVAGE  ORNAMENTS. 


41 


course  very  awkward,  as  it  prevented  them  from  breathing 
freely  through  the  nose,  but  they  submitted  cheerfully  to 
the  inconvenience  for  the  sake  of  appearance. 

They  had  also  necklaces  made  of  shells,  neatly  cut  and 
strung  together;  earrings,  bracelets  of  small  cord;  and 
strings  of  plaited  human  hair,  which  they  wound  round 
their  waists.  Some  also  had  gorgets  of  large  shells 
hanging  from  the  neck  across  the  breast.  On  all  these 
things  they  placed  a high  value. 

Spix  and  Martius 1 thus  describe  the  ornaments  of  a 
Coroado  woman.  ‘ On  the  cheek  she  had  a circle,  and 
over  that  two  strokes ; under  the  nose  several  marks 
resembling  an  M ; from  the  corners  of  the  mouth  to  the 
middle  of  the  cheek  were  two  parallel  lines,  and  below 
them  on  both  sides  many  straight  stripes;  below  and 
between  her  breasts  there  were  some  connected  segments 
of  circles,  and  down  her  arms  the  figure  of  a snake  was 
depicted.  This  beauty  wore  no  ornaments,  except  a neck- 
lace of  monkeys5  teeth.5 

The  savage  also  wears  necklaces  and  rings,  bracelets 
and  anklets,  armlets  and  leglets — even,  if  I may  say  so, 
bodylets.  Bound  their  bodies,  round  their  necks,  round 
their  arms  and  legs,  their  fingers,  and  even  their  toes, 
they  wear  ornaments  of  all  kinds.  From  their  number 
and  weight  these  must  sometimes  be  very  inconvenient. 
Lichtenstein  saw  the  wife  of  a Beetuan  chief  wearing  no 
less  than  seventy-two  brass  rings. 

Nor  are  they  particular  as  to  the  material:  copper, 
brass,  or  iron,  leather,  or  ivory,  stones,  shells,  glass,  bits 
of  wood,  seeds,  or  teeth — nothing  comes  amiss.  In  South 
East  Island,  one  of  the  Louisiade  Archipelago,  M/Gillivray 
even  saw  several  bracelets  made  each  of  a lower  human 
jaw,  crossed  by  a collar-bone ; and  other  travellers  have 

1 Travels  in  Brazil,  vol.  ii.  p.  224. 


42 


CHEEK  STUDS.  LABKETS. 


seen  brass  curtain  rings,  the  brass  plates  for  keyholes,  the 
lids  of  sardine  cases,  and  other  such  incongruous  objects, 
worn  with  much  gravity  and  pride. 

The  Felatah  ladies  in  Central  Africa  spend  several  hours 
a day  over  their  toilet.  In  fact  they  begin  over-night  by 
carefully  wrapping  their  fingers  and  toes  in  henna  leaves, 
so  that  by  morning  they  are  a beautiful  purple.  The  teeth 
are  stained  alternately  blue,  yellow,  and  purple,  one  here 
and  there  being  left  of  its  natural  colour,  as  a contrast. 
About  the  eyelids  they  are  very  particular;  they  pencil 
them  with  sulphuret  of  antimony.  The  hair  is  coloured 
carefully  with  indigo.  Studs  and  other  jewellery  are  worn 
in  great  profusion.1 

Not  content  with  hanging  things  round  their  necks,  arms, 
ankles,  and  in  fact  wherever  nature  has  enabled  them  to  do 
so,  savages  also  cut  holes  in  themselves  for  the  purpose. 

The  Esquimaux  from  Mackenzie  River  westward  make 
two  openings  in  their  cheeks,  one  on  each  side,  which  they 
gradually  enlarge,  and  in  which  they  wear  an  ornament 
of  stone  resembling  in  form  a large  stud,  and  which  may 
therefore  be  called  a cheek  stud. 

Throughout  a great  part  of  Western  America,  and 
again  in  Africa,  we  also  find  the  custom  of  wearing  a 
piece  of  wood  through  the  central  part  of  the  lower  lip. 
A small  holq  is  made  in  the  lip  during  infancy,  and  it  is 
then  extended  by  degrees  until  it  is  sometimes  as  much 
as  two  inches  long. 

Some  races  extend  the  lobe  of  the  ear  until  it  reaches 
the  shoulder  ; others  file  the  teeth  in  various  manners. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Davis  has  a Dyak  skull  in  which  the  six 
front  teeth  have  each  been  carefully  pierced  with  a small 
hole,  into  which  a pin  with  a spherical  brass  head  has  been 

1 Laird,  Expedition  into  the  Interior  o^  Africa,  yol.  ii.  p.  94. 


ORNAMENTATION  OP  THE  SKIN. 


43 


driven.  In  this  way,  the  upper  lip  being  raised,  the  shining 
knob  on  each  tooth  would  be  displayed.1  Some  of  the 
African  tribes  also  chip  their  teeth  in  various  manners, 
each  community  having  a fashion  of  its  own. 

Ornamentation  of  the  skin  is  almost  universal  among 
the  lower  races  of  men.  In  some  cases  every  individual 
follows  his  own  fancy  ; in  others  each  clan  has  a special 
pattern.  Thus,  speaking  of  Abbeokuta,  Captain  Burton  2 
says  : — ‘ There  was  a vast  variety  of  tattoos  and  ornament- 
ation, rendering  them  a serious  difficulty  to  strangers. 
The  skin  patterns  were  of  every  variety,  from  the  diminu- 
tive prick  to  the  great  gash  and  the  large  boil-like  lumps. 
They  affected  various  figures — tortoises,  alligators,  and 
the  favourite  lizard,  stars,  concentric  circles,  lozenges, 
right  lines,  welts,  gouts  of  gore,  marble  or  button-like 
knobs  of  flesh,  and  elevated  scars,  resembling  scalds, 
which  are  opened  for  the  introduction  of  fetish  medicines, 
and  to  expel  evil  influences.  In  this  country  every  tribe, 
sub-tribe,  and  even  family,  has  its  blazon,3  whose  infinite 
diversifications  may  be  compared  with  the  lines  and  ordi- 
naries of  European  heraldry.’ 

In  South  Africa  the  Nyambanas  are  characterised  by  a 
row  of  pimples  or  warts,  about  the  size  of  a pea,  and  ex- 
tending from  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  to  the  tip  of 
the  nose.  Among  the  Bachapin  Kaffirs,  those  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  in  battle  are  allowed  the  privilege 
of  marking  their  thigh  with  a long  scar,  which  is  rendered 
indelible  and  of  a bluish  colour  by  rubbing  ashes  into 
the  fresh  wound. 

The  tribal  mark  of  the  Bunns4  (Africa)  consists  of  three 

1 Thesaurus  Craniorum,  p.  289.  tattoo  upon  each  cheek,  combined 

2 Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  104.  with  the  three  Egba  cuts. 

8 Ogubonna’s  family,  for  instance,  4 Trans.  EthnTSoc.  vol.  v.  p.  86. 

have  three  small  squares  of  blue 


44 


TRIBE-MARKS. 


slashes  from  the  crown  of  the  head,  down  the  face,  towards 
the  month ; the  ridges  of  flesh  stand  ont  in  bold  relief.  This 
painful  operation  is  performed  by  cutting  the  skin,  and 
taking  out  a strip  of  flesh ; palm  oil  and  wood  ashes  are 
then  rubbed  into  the  wound,  thus  causing  a thick  ridge. 

The  Bornouese  in  Central  Africa  have  twenty  cuts  or 
lines  on  each  side  of  the  face,  which  are  drawn  from  the 
corners  of  the  mouth  towards  the  angles  of  the  lower  jaw 
and  cheekbone.  They  have  also  one  cut  in  the  centre  of 
the  forehead,  six  on  each  arm,  six  on  each  leg,  four  on 
each  breast,  and  nine  on  each  side,  just  above  the  hips. 
This  makes  91  large  cuts,  and  the  process  is  said  to  be 
extremely  painful  on  account  of  the  heat  and  flies.1 

The  women  of  Brumer  Island,  on  the  south  coast  of  New 
Guinea,  were  tattooed  on  the  face,  arms,  and  front  of  the 
body,  but  generally  not  on  the  back,  in  vertical  stripes  less 
than  an  inch  apart,  and  connected  by  zigzag  markings. 
On  the  face  these  are  more  complicated,  and  on  the  fore- 
arm and  wrist  they  were  frequently  so  elaborate  as  to 
resemble  lace- work.2  The  men  were  more  rarely  tattooed, 
and  then  only  with  a few  lines  or  stars  on  the  right  breast. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  markings  consisted  of  a double 
series  of  large  stars  and  dots  stretching  from  the  shoulder 
to  the  pit  of  the  stomach. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tanna  have  on  their  arms  and  chests 
elevated  scars,  representing  plants,  flowers,  stars,  and 
various  other  figures.  c The  inhabitants  of  Tazovan,  or 
Formosa,  by  a very  painful  operation,  impress  on  their 
naked  skins  various  figures  of  trees,  flowers,  and  animals. 
The  great  men  in  Guinea  have  their  skin  flowered  like 
damask ; and  in  Decan,  the  women  likewise  have  flowers 
cut  into  their  flesh  on  the  forehead,  the  arms,  and  the 

1 Denham,  vol.  iii.  p.  175. 

2 McGillivray’s  Voyage  of  the  Rattlesnake,  vol.  i.  p.  262. 


TATTOOING. 


45 


breast,  and  the  elevated  scars  are  painted  in  colours,  and 
exhibit  the  appearance  of  flowered  damask.5 1 

In  the  Tonga  Islands  the  men  are  tattooed  from  the 
middle  of  the  thigh  to  above  the  hips.  The  women  are 
only  tattooed  on  the  arms  and  fingers,  and  there  very 
slightly.52  In  the  Fiji  Islands,  on  the  contrary,  the  women 
are  more  tattooed  than  the  men.  When  tastefully  ex- 
ecuted, tattooing  has  been  regarded  by  many  travellers  as 
a real  ornament.  Thus  Laird  says  that  some  of  the  tattoo- 
ing in  West  Africa  6 in  the  absence  of  clothing  gives  a 
finish  to  the  skin.53 

In  the  Gambier  Islands,  Beechey  says,4  6 tattooing  is  so 
universally  practised,  that  it  is  rare  to  meet  a man  without 
it ; and  it  is  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  the  figure  is 
sometimes  covered  with  small  checkered  lines  from  the 
neck  to  the  ankles,  though  the  breast  is  generally  exempt, 
or  only  ornamented  with  a single  device.  In  some, 
generally  elderly  men,  the  face  is  covered  below  the  eyes, 
in  which  case  the  lines  or  net-work  are  more  open  than 
on  other  parts  of  the  body,  probably  on  account  of  the  pain 
of  the  operation,  and  terminate  at  the  upper  part  in  a 
straight  line  from  ear  to  ear,  passing  over  the  bridge  of 
the  nose.  With  these  exceptions,  to  which  we  may  add 
the  fashion,  with  some  few,  of  blue  lines,  resembling 
stockings,  from  the  middle  of  the  thigh  to  the  ankle,  the 
effect  is  becoming,  and  in  a great  measure  destroys  the 
appearance  of  nakedness.  The  patterns  which  most  im- 
prove the  shape,  and  which  appear  to  me  peculiar  to  this 
group,  are  those  which  extend  from  the  armpits  to  the 
hips,  and  are  drawn  forward  with  a curve  which  seems  to 
contract  the  waist,  and  at  a short  distance  gives  the  figure 

1 Forster’s  Observations  made  during  3 Narrative  of  an  Expedition  into 

a Voyage  round  the  World,  p.  588.  the  Interior  of  Africa,  vol.  i.  p.  291. 

2 Cook’s  Voyage  towards  the  South  4 Beechey,  vol.  i p.  138. 

Pole,yol.  i.  p.  218. 


46 


TATTOOING, 


an  elegance  and  outline,  not  unlike  tliat  of  the  figures 
seen  on  the  walls  of  the  Egyptian  tombs/ 

Fig.  12  represents  a Caroline  Islander,  after  Ereycinet, 
and  gives  an  idea  of  the  tattooing,  though  it  cannot 


Fig.  12. 


CAROLINE  ISLANDER. 


be  taken  as  representing  tlie  form  or  features  charac- 
teristic of  those  islanders. 

The  tattooing  of  the  Sandwich  Islanders  is  less  orna- 


ARTIFICIAL  ALTERATION  OF  FORM. 


47 


mental,  the  devices  being,  according  to  Arago,  ‘ unmeaning 
and  whimsical,  without  taste,  and  in  general  badly  exe- 
cuted/1 Perhaps,  however,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  was 
that  of  the  New  Zealanders  (see  figs.  13  and  14),  who  were 
generally  tattooed  in  curved  or  spiral  lines.  The  process 
is  extremely  painful,  particularly  on  the  lips ; but  to  shrink 
from  it,  or  even  to  show  any  signs  of  suffering  while  under 
the  operation,  would  be  thought  very  unmanly.  The 

Fig.  13.  Fig.  14. 


HEAD  OF  NEW  ZEALANDER. 


HEAD  OF  NEW  ZEALANDER. 


natives  used  the  ‘ Moko 5 or  pattern  of  their  tattooing  as  a 
kind  of  signature.  The  women  have  their  lips  tattooed 
with  horizontal  lines.  To  have  red  lips  is  thought  to  be  a 
great  reproach. 

Many  similar  cases  might  be  given  in  which  savages 
ornament  themselves,  as  they  suppose,  in  a manner  which 
must  be  very  painful.  Perhaps  none  is  more  remarkable 


1 Arago’s  Letters,  Pt.  II.  p.  147. 


48 


HAIKDEESSING. 


than  the  practice  which  we  find  in  several  parts  of  the 
world  of  modifying  the  human  form  by  means  of  tight 
bandages.  The  small  size  of  the  Chinese  ladies’  feet  is  a 
well-known  caae,  but  is  less  mischievous  than  the  com- 
pression of  the  waist  as  practised  in  Europe.  Some  of  the 
American  tribes  even  modified  the  form  of  the  head.  One 
would  have  supposed  that  any  such  compression  would 
have  exercised  a very  prejudicial  effect  on  the  intellect, 
but  as  far  as  the  existing  evidence  goes,  it  does  not  appear 
to  do  so. 

The  Fijians  give  a great  deal  of  time  and  attention 
to  their  hair,  as  is  shown  in  PI.  II.  Most  of  the  chiefs 
have  a special  hairdresser,  to  whom  they  sometimes  devote 
several  hours  a day.  Their  heads  of  hair  are  often  more 
than  three  feet  in  circumference,  and  Mr.  Williams  mea- 
sured one  which  was  nearly  five  feet  round.  This  forces 
them  to  sleep  on  narrow  wooden  pillows  or  neck-rests, 
which  must  be  very  uncomfortable.  They  also  dye  the 
hair.  Black  is  the  natural  and  favourite  colour,  but 
some  prefer  white,  flaxen,  or  bright  red. 

‘On  one  head,’  says  Mr.  Williams,1  ‘ all  the  hair  is  of  a 
uniform  height ; but  one-third  in  front  is  ashy  or  sandy, 
and  the  rest  black,  a sharply  defined  separation  dividing 
the  two  colours.  Not  a few  are  so  ingeniously  grotesque 
as  to  appear  as  if  done  purposely  to  excite  laughter.  One 
has  a large  knot  of  fiery  hair  on  his  crown,  all  the  rest  of 
his  head  being  bald.  Another  has  the  most  of  his  hair  cut 
away,  leaving  three  or  four  rows  of  small  clusters,  as  if  his 
head  were  planted  with  small  paint-brushes.  A third  has 
his  head  bare  except  where  a large  patch  projects  over 
each  temple.  One,  two,  or  three  cords  of  twisted  hair 
often  fall  from  the  right  temple,  a foot  or  eighteen  inches 
long.  Some  men  wear  a number  of  these  braids  so  as  to 


1 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  158. 


FIJI  AN  MODES  OJ1  DRESSING  THE  HAIR. 

Plate  II. 


FIJI  HEAD-DRESSES. 


49 


form  a curtain  at  the  back  of  the  neck,  reaching  from  one 
ear  to  the  other.  A mode  that  requires  great  care,  has 
the  hair  wrought  into  distinct  locks  radiating  from  the 
head.  Each  lock  is  a perfect  cone  about  seven  inches 
long,  having  the  base  outwards ; so  that  the  surface  of  the 
hair  is  marked  out  into  a great  number  of  small  circles, 
the  ends  being  turned  in  in  each  lock,  towards  the  centre 
of  the  cone.’ 


CHAPTER  III. 


MARRIAGE  AND  RELATIONSHIP, 


OTHINGr,  perhaps,  gives  a more  instructive  insight 


into  the  true  condition  of  savages  than  their  ideas  on 
the  subject  of  relationship  and  marriage;  nor  can  the 
great  advantages  of  civilisation  be  more  conclusively 
proved  than  by  the  improvement  which  it  has  effected  in 
the  relation  between  the  two  sexes. 

Marriage,  and  the  relationship  of  a child  to  its  father 
and  mother,  seem  to  us  so  natural  and  obvious,  that  we  are 
apt  to  look  on  them  as  aboriginal  and  general  to  the 
human  race.  This,  however,  is  very  far  from  being  the 
case.  The  lowest  races  have  no  institution  of  marriage  ; 
true  love  is  almost  unknown  among  them ; and  marriage, 
in  its  lowest  phases,  is  by  no  means  a matter  of  affection 
and  companionship. 

The  Hottentots,  says  Kolben,1  ‘are  so  cold  and  indiffer- 
ent to  one  another  that  you  would  think  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  love  between  them.5  Among  the  Koussa 
Kaffirs,  Lichtenstein  asserts  that  there  is  ‘no  feeling  of 
love  in  marriage/  2 In  North  America,  the  Tinne  Indians 
had  no  word  for  ‘ dear 9 or  ‘ beloved ; 9 and  the  Algonquin 
language  is  stated  to  have  contained  no  verb  meaning  ‘ to 
love ; * so  that  when  the  Bible  was  translated  by  the 
missionaries  into  that  language  it  was  necessary  to  invent 
a word  for  the  purpose. 

1 Kolben’s  Hist,  of  the  Cape  of  2 Travels  in  South  Africa,  vol.  I 
Good  Hope,  voL  i.  p.  162.  p.  261. 


51 


"the  position  of  women  among  savag'es. 

In  Yariba,1  says  Lander  (Central  Africa),  e marriage  is 
celebrated  by  the  natives  as  unconcernedly  as  possible : a 
man  thinks  as  little  of  taking  a wife  as  of  cutting  an  ear 
of  corn — affection  is  altogether  out  of  the  question.’  The 
King  of  Boussa,2  he  tells  us  in  another  place,  6 when  he  is 
not  engaged  in  public  affairs,  usually  employs  all  his 
leisure  hours  in  superintending  the  occupations  of  his 
household,  and  making  his  own  clothes.  The  Midiki 
(queen)  and  he  have  distinct  establishments,  divided  for- 
tunes, and  separate  interests ; indeed,  they  appear  to  have 
nothing  in  common  with  each  other,  and  yet  we  have 
never  seen  so  friendly  a couple  since  leaving  our  native 
country.’  Among  the  Mandingoes  marriage  is  merely  a 
form  of  regulated  slavery.  Husband  and  wife  ‘ never  laugh 
or  joke  together.’  6 I asked  Baba,’  says  Caillie,  ‘ why  he 
did  not  sometimes  make  merry  with  his  wives.  He  replied 
that  if  he  did  he  should  not  be  able  to  manage  them,  for 
they  would  laugh  at  him  when  he  ordered  them  to  do 
anything.’ 3 

In  India  the  Hill  tribes  of  Chittagong,  says  Captain 
Lewin,  regard  marriage  ‘as  a mere  animal  and  con- 
venient connection ; ’ as  the  ‘ means  of  getting  their 
dinner  cooked.  They  have  no  idea  of  tenderness,  nor  of 
chivalrous  devotion.’ 4 

Among  the  Guyacurus  of  Paraguay  ‘the  bonds  of 
matrimony  are  so  very  slight,  that  when  the  parties  do 
not  like  each  other,  they  separate  without  any  further 
ceremony.  In  other  respects  they  do  not  appear  to  have 
the  most  distant  notions  of  that  bashfulness  so  natural  to 
the  rest  of  mankind.’ 5 The  Guaranis  seem  to  have  been 
in  a very  similar  condition.6 

1 K.  and  J.  Lander’s  Niger  Expedi-  4 Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  p.  116, 

tion,  vol.  i.  p.  161.  5 Charlevoix,  Hist,  of  Paraguay, 

2 Ibid . vol.  ii.  p.  106.  See  also  p.  197.  vol.  i.  p.  91. 

* Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  350.  6 Loc.  cit . p.  352. 


52 


t 


RELATIONSHIP  AMONG  SAVAGES. 


Among  the  Samoyedes  1 of  Siberia  the  husbands  show 
little  affection  for  their  wives,  and,  according  to  Pallas, 
6 daignent  a-peine  leur  dire  une  parole  de  douceur.5 

In  Australia  little  real  affection  exists  between  hus- 
bands and  wives,  and  young  men  value  a wife  principally 
for  her  services  as  a slave  ; in  fact,  when  asked  why  they 
are  anxious  to  obtain  wives,  their  usual  reply  is,  that  they 
may  get  wood,  water,  and  food  for  them,  and  carry  what- 
ever property  they  possess.5  2 The  position  of  women  in 
Australia  seems  indeed  to  be  wretched  in  the  extreme. 
They  are  treated  with  the  utmost  brutality,  beaten  and 
speared  in  the  limbs  on  the  most  trivial  provocation.  Pew 
women,  says  Eyre,  6 will  be  found,  hpon  examination,  to  be 
free  from  frightful  scars  upon  the  head,  or  the  marks  of 
spear  wounds  about  the  body.  I have  seen  a young  woman 
who,  from  the  number  of  these  marks,  appeared  to  have 
been  almost  riddled  with  spear  wounds.  If  at  all  good- 
looking  their  position  is,  if  possible,  even  worse  than 
otherwise.5 

Again,  our  family  system,  which  regards  a child  as 
equally  related  to  his  father  and  his  mother,  seems  so 
natural  that  we  experience  a feeling  of  surprise  on  meet- 
ing with  any  other  system.  Yet  we  shall  find,  I think, 
reason  for  concluding  that  a man  was  first  regarded  as 
merely  related  to  his  family ; then  to  his  mother  but  not 
to  his  -father ; then  to  his  father  and  not  to  his  mother ; 
and  only  at  last  to  both  father  and  mother.  Even  among 
the  Romans,  the  word  6 familia 5 meant  ‘ slaves,5  and  a 
man’s  wife  and  children  only  formed  a part  of  his  family 
inasmuch  as  they  were  his  slaves  ; so  that  a son  who  was 
emancipated — that  is  to  say,  made  free — had  no  share  in 
the  inheritance,  having  ceased  to  belong  to  the  family. 
We  shall,  however,  be  better  able  to  understand  this  part 

1 PaUas’s  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  94.  2 Eyre’s  Discoveries,  vol.  ii.  p.  321. 


DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  MARRIAGE. 


53 


of  the  question  when  we  have  considered  the  various 
phases  which  marriage  presents ; for  it  is  by  no  means 
of  an  uniform  character,  but  takes  almost  every  possible 
form.  In  some  cases  nothing  of  the  sort  appears  to  exist 
at  all;  in  others  it  is  essentially  temporary,  and  exists 
only  till  the  birth  of  the  child,  when  both  man  and  woman 
are  free  to  mate  themselves  afresh.  In  others,  the  man 
buys  the  woman,  who  becomes  as  much  his  property  as 
his  horse  or  his  dog. 

In  Sumatra  there  were  formerly  three  perfectly  distinct 
kinds  of  marriage  : the  ‘ Jugur,’  in  which  the  man  pur- 
chased the  woman;  the  ‘ Ambel-anak,’  in  which  the 
woman  purchased  the  man  ; and  the  6 Semando,’  in  which 
they  joined  on  terms  of  equality.  In  the  mode  of  marriage 
by  Ambel-anak,  says  Marsden,1  ‘the  father  of  a virgin 
makes  choice  of  some  young  man  for  her  husband,  generally 
from  an  inferior  family,  which  renounces  all  further  right 
to,  or  interest  in,  him ; and  he  is  taken  into  the  house  of  his 
father-in-law,  who  kills  a buffalo  on  the  occasion,  and  re- 
ceives twenty  dollars  from  his  son’s  relations.  After  this, 
the  buruk  baik’  nia  (the  good  and  bad  of  him)  is  invested  in 
the  wife’s  family.  If  he  murders  or  robs,  they  pay  the 
bangun,  or  the  fine.  If  he  is  murdered,  they  receive  the 
bangun.  They  are  liable  to  any  debts  he  may  contract  in 
marriage ; those  prior  to  it  remaining  with  his  parents. 
He  lives  in  the  family,  in  a state  between  that  of  a son  and 
a debtor.  He  partakes  as  a son  of  what  the  house  affords, 
but  has  no  property  in  himself.  His  rice  plantation,  the 
produce  of  his  pepper  garden,  with  everything  that  he  can 
gain  or  earn,  belongs  to  the  family.  He  is  liable  to  be 
divorced  at  their  pleasure,  and  though  he  has  children, 
must  leave  all,  and  return  naked  as  he  came.’ 


1 Marsden’s  Hist,  of  Sumatra,  p.  262. 


54 


DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  MARRIAGE. 


6 The  Semando  1 is  a regular  treaty  between  the  parties, 
on  the  footing  of  equality.  The  adat  paid  to  the  girl’s 
friends  has  usually  been  twelve  dollars.  The  agreement 
stipulates  that  all  effects,  gains,  or  earnings  are  to  be 
equally  the  property  of  both ; and,  in  case  of  divorce  by 
mutual  consent,  the  stock,  debts,  and  credits  are  to  be 
equally  divided.  If  the  man  only  insists  on  the  divorce, 
he  gives  the  woman  her  half  of  the  effects,  and  loses  the 
twelve  dollars  he  has  paid.  If  the  woman  only  claims  the 
divorce,  she  forfeits  her  right  to  the  proportion  of  the 
effects,  but  is  entitled  to  keep  her  tikar,  bantal,  and 
dandan  (paraphernalia),  and  her  relations  are  liable  to 
pay  back  the  twelve  dollars  ; but  it  is  seldom  demanded. 
This  mode,  doubtless  the  most  conformable  to  our  ideas 
of  conjugal  right  and  felicity,  is  that  which  the  chiefs  of 
the  Rejang  country  have  formally  consented  to  establish 
throughout  their  jurisdiction,  and  to  their  orders  the 
influence  of  the  Malayan  priests  will  contribute  to  give 
efficacy.’ 

The  Jugur  marriage  need  not  be  particularly  described. 

The  Hassaniy’eh  Arabs  have  a very  curious  form  of 
marriage,  which  may  be  called  c three-quarter  ’ marriage  ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  woman  is  legally  married  for  three  days 
out  of  four,  remaining  perfectly  free  for  the  fourth. 

In  Ceylon  there  were  two  kinds  of  marriage —the  Deega 
marriage,  and  the  Beena  marriage.  In  the  former  the 
woman  went  to  her  husband’s  hut ; in  the  latter  the  man 
transferred  himself  to  that  of  the  woman.  Moreover, 
according  to  Davy,  marriages  in  Ceylon  were  provisional 
for  the  first  fortnight,  at  the  expiration  of  which  they 
were  either  annulled  or  confirmed.2 

Among  the  Reddies  3 of  Southern  India  a very  singular 

1 Marsden’s  Hist,  of  Sumatra,  p.263.  8 Shortt,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  Ne\t 

* Davy’s  Ceylon,  p.  286.  Series,  vol.  vit.  p.  194. 


POLYANDRY. 


55 


custom  prevails  : — ‘ A young  woman  of  sixteen  or  twenty 
years  of  age  may  be  married  to  a boy  of  five  or  six  years ! 
She,  however,  lives  with  some  other  adult  male — perhaps 
a maternal  uncle  or  cousin — but  is  not  allowed  to  form 
a connection  with  the  father’s  relatives ; occasionally  it 
may  be  the  boy-husband’s  father  himself — that  is,  the 
woman’s  father-in-law  ! Should  there  be  children  from 
these  liaisons,  they  are  fathered  on  the  boy-husband. 
When  the  boy  grows  up  the  wife  is  either  old  or  past 
child-bearing,  when  he  in  his  turn  takes  up  with  some 
other  “ boy’s  ” wife  in  a manner  precisely  similar  to  his 
own,  and  procreates  children  for  the  boy-husband.’ 

Polyandry,  or  the  marriage  of  one  woman  to  several 
men  at  once,  is  more  common  than  is  generally  supposed, 
though  much  less  so  than  polygamy,  which  is  almost  uni- 
versally permitted  among  the  lower  races  of  men.  One 
reason — though  I do  not  say  the  only  one — for  this  is 
obvious  when  pointed  out.  Long  after  our  children  are 
weaned  milk  remains  an  important  and  necessary  part  of 
their  food.  We  supply  this  want  with  cow’s  milk ; but 
among  people  who  have  not  domesticated  animals  this 
cannot,  of  course,  be  done,  and  consequently  the  children 
are  not  weaned  until  they  are  two,  three,  or  even  four 
years  old.  During  all  this  period  the  husband  and  wife 
generally  remain  apart,  and  consequently,  unless  a man 
has  several  wives,  he  is  often  left  without  any  at  all. 
Thus  in  Fiji  c the  relatives  of  a woman  take  it  as  a public 
insult  if  any  child  should  be  born  before  the  customary 
three  or  four  years  have  elapsed,  and  they  consider  them- 
selves in  duty  bound  to  avenge  it  in  an  equally  public 
manner.’ 1 

It  seems  to  us  natural  and  proper  that  husband  and 


A Mission  to  Fiji,  p.  191. 


56 


RESTRICTION  ON  CONJUGAL  INTERCOURSE. 


wife  should  enjoy  as  much  as  possible  the  society  of  one 
another;  but,  among  the  Turkomans,  according  to  Fraser, 
for  six  months  or  a year,  or  even  sometimes  two  years, 
after  a marriage,  the  husband  was  only  allowed  to  visit 
his  wife  by  stealth. 

Klemm  states  that  the  same  is  the  case  among  the 
Circassians  until  the  first  child  is  born.  Among  the- 
Fijians  husbands  and  wives-  do  not  usually  spend  the  night 
together.  In  Chittagong  (India),  although,  ‘ according  to 
European  ideas,  the  standard  of  morality  among  the 
Kyoungtha  is  low/  yet  husband  and  wife  are  on  no 
account  permitted  to  sleep  together  until  seven  days  after 
marriage.1 

Burckhardt 2 states,  that  in  Arabia,  after  the  wedding, 
if  it  can  be  called  so,  the  bride  returns  to  her  mother’s 
tent,  but  again  runs  away  in  the  evening,  and  repeats 
these  flights  several  times,  till  she  finally  returns  to  her 
tent.  She  does  not  go  to  live  in  her  husband’s  tent  for 
some  months,  perhaps  not  even  till  a full  year,  from  the 
wedding-day. 

Lafitau  informs  us  that  among  the  North  American 
Indians  the  husband  only  visits  the  wife  as  it  were  by 
stealth: — ‘ils  n’osent  aller  dans  les  cabanes  particuliers 
ou  habitent  leurs  epouses,  que  durant  l’obscurite  de  la 
nuit  . . . . ce  serait  une  action  extraordinaire  de  s’y  pre- 
senter le  jour.’  3 

In  Futa,  one  of  the  West  African  kingdoms,  it  is  said 
that  no  husband  is  allowed  to  see  his  wife’s  face  until  he 
has  been  three  years  married. 

In  Sparta,  and  in  Crete,  according  to  Xenophon  and 
Strabo,  married  people  were  for  some  time  after  the 
wedding  only  allowed  to  see  one  another  as  it  were  clan- 

1 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  quoted  in  M'Lennan’s  Primitive  Mar- 

p.  51.  riage,  p.  302. 

2 Burckhardt’s  Notes,  vol.vi.  p.  269,  3 Loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  576. 


ABSENCE  OF  MARRIAGE  CEREMONY, 


57 


destinely ; and  a similar  custom  is  said  to  have  existed 
among  the  Lycians.  So  far  as  I am  aware,  no  satis- 
factory explanation  of  this  cnstom  has  yet  been  given,  I 
shall,  however,  presently  venture  to  suggest  one. 

There  are  many  cases  in  which  savages  have  no  such 
thing  as  any  ceremony  of  marriage.  I have  said  nothing, 
says  Metz,  ‘ about  the  marriage  ceremonies  of  the  Badagas 
(Hindostan),  because  they  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have 
any.’  The  Kurumbas,  another  tribe  of  the  Neilgherry 
Hills,  ‘have  no  marriage  ceremony.’  1 According  to 
Colonel  Dalton,2  the  Keriahs  of  Central  India  ‘have  no 
word  for  marriage  in  their  own  language,  and  the  only 
ceremony  used  appears  to  be  little  more  than  a sort  of 
public  recognition  of  the  fact.’  So  also  the  Spanish  mis- 
sionaries found  no  word  for  marriage,  nor  any  marriage 
ceremony,  among  the  Indians  of  California.3  Farther 
north,  among  the  Xutchin  Indians,  ‘ there  is  no  ceremony 
observed  at  marriage  or  birth.’ 4 

The  marital  rite,  says  Schoolcraft,  ‘among  our  tribes’ 
(i.e.  the  Redskins  of  the  United  States)  ‘ is  nothing  more 
than  the  personal  consent  of  the  parties,  without  requiring 
any  concurrent  act  of  a priesthood,  a magistracy,  or  wit- 
nesses ; the  act  is  assumed  by  the  parties,  without  the 
necessity  of ’any  extraneous  sanction.’  5 

According  to  Brett,  there  is  no  marriage  ceremony 
among  the  Arawaks  of  South  America.6  Martius  makes 
the  same  assertion  with  reference  to  the  Brazilian  tribes 
generally,7  and  the  same  is  the  case  with  some  of  the 
Australian  tribes.8 

There  is,  says  Bruce,  ‘ no  such  thing  as  marriage  in 
Abyssinia,  unless  that  which  is  contracted  by  mutual  con- 

1 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  yoI.  vii.  p.  276.  5 Indian  Tribes,  p.  248,  132. 

2 Ibid.  yoI.  vi.  p.  25.  6 Guiana,  p.  101. 

* Baegart,  Smithsonian  Report,  1863,  7 Loc.  cit.  p.  51. 

p.  368.  8 Eyre’s  Discoveries,  vol.  ii.  p.  319 

4 Smithsonian  Repoit,  1866,  p.  326.  4 


58 


ABSENCE  OF  ANY  NAME  FOB  MARRIAGE. 


sent,  without  other  form,  subsisting  only  till  dissolved  by 
dissent  of  one  or  other,  and  to  be  renewed  or  repeated  as 
often  as  it  is  agreeable  to  both  parties,  who,  when  they 
please,  live  together  again  as  man  and  wife,  after  having 
been  divorced,  had  children  by  others,  or  whether  they 
have  been  married,  or  had  children  with  others  or  not. 
I remember  to  have  once  been  at  Koscam  in  presence  of 
the  Iteghe  (the  queen),  when,  in  the  circle,  there  was  a 
woman  of  great  quality,  and  seven  men  who  had  all  been 
her  husbands,  none  of  whom  was  the  happy  spouse  at  that 
time/  1 And  yet  c there  is  no  country  in  the  world  where 
there  are  so  many  churches/  2 Among  the  Bedouin  Arabs 
there  is  a marriage  ceremony  in  the  case  of  a girl,  but 
the  re-marriage  of  a widow  is  not  thought  sufficiently 
important  to  deserve  one.  Speke  says,  ‘ there  are  no  such 
things  as  marriages  in  Uganda/  3 

Of  the  Mandingoes  (West  Africa),  Caiilie4  says  that 
husband  and  wife  are  not  united  by  any  ceremony ; and 
Hutton 5 makes  the  same  statement  as  regards  the  Ashan- 
tees.  In  Congo  and  Angola  6 6 they  use  no  peculiar  cere- 
monies in  marriage,  nor  scarce  trouble  themselves  for 
consent  of  friends/  La  Yaillant  says  that  there  are  no 
marriage  ceremonies  among  the  Hottentots ; 7 and  the 
Bushmen,  according  to  Mr.  Wood,  had  in  their  language 
no  means  of  distinguishing  an  unmarried  from  a married 
girl.8 

Yet  we  must  not  assume  that  marriage  is  necessarily 
and  always  lightly  regarded,  where  it  is  unaccompanied  by 
ceremonial.  Thus  c marriage  in  this  island  (Tahiti),  as 
appeared  to  us/  says  Cook,  ‘ is  nothing  more  than  an 

1 Bruce’s  Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  487.  6 Astley’s  Coll,  of  Voyages,  vol.  iii. 

2 Ibid.  vol.  v.  p.  1.  p.  221,  227. 

3 Journal,  p.  361.  7 Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  58. 

4 Loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  350.  8 Natural  History  of  Man,  vol.  i, 

5 Klemm,  Cultur  d.  Menschen,  vol.  p.  269. 

iii.  p.  280. 


MARRIAGE  CEREMONIES. 


59 


agreement  between  the  man  and  woman,  with  which  the 
priest  has  no  concern.  Where  it  is  contracted  it  appears 
to  be  pretty  well  kept,  though  sometimes  the  parties  sepa- 
rate by  mutual  consent,  and  in  that  case  a divorce  takes 
place  with  as  little  trouble  as  the  marriage.  But  though 
the  priesthood  has  laid  the  people  under  no  tax  for  a 
nuptial  benediction,  there  are  two  operations  which  it  has 
appropriated,  and  from  which  it  derives  considerable  ad- 
vantages. One  is  tattooing,  and  the  other  circumcision/  1 
Yet  he  elsewhere  informs  us  that  married  women  in  Tahiti 
are  as  faithful  to  their  husbands  as  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  there  is  a great  distinction 
between  what  may  be  called  6 lax ’ and  6 brittle  * marriages. 
In  some  countries  the  marriage  tie  may  be  broken  with 
the  greatest  ease,  and  yet,  as  long  as  it  lasts,  is  strictly 
respected;  while  in  other  countries  the  very  reverse  is 
the  case. 

Perhaps  on  the  whole  any  marriage  ceremony  is  better 
than  none  at  all,  but  some  races  have  practices  at  mar- 
riage which  are  extremely  objectionable.  Some,  also,  are 
very  curious,  and  no  doubt  symbolical.  Thus,  among  the 
Canadian  Indians,  Carver  2 says  that  when  the  chief  has 
pronounced  the  pair  to  be  married,  ‘ the  bridegroom  turns 
round,  and,  bending  his  body,  takes  his  wife  on  his  back, 
in  which  manner  he  carries  her,  amidst  the  exclamations 
of  the  spectators,  to  his  tent/  Bruce,  in  Abyssinia, 
observed  an  identical  custom.  When  the  ceremony  is 
over,  he  says,  ‘the  bridegroom  takes  his  lady  on  his 
shoulders,  and  carries  her  off  to  his  house.  If  it  be  at  a 
distance  he  does  the  same  thing,  but  only  goes  entirely 
round  about  the  bride’s  house.’ 3 

1 Cook’s  Voyage  round  the  World,  loc.  cit.  vol.  iv.  p.  299. 

Hawkesworth’s  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  240.  2 Travels,  p.  374. 

For  Caroline  Islands,  see  Klemra,  3 Vol.  vii.  p.  67. 


60 


ABSENCE  OF  MARRIAGE. 


Iii  China,  when  the  bridal  procession  reaches  the  bride- 
groom’s house,  the  bride  is  carried  into  the  house  by  a 
matron,  and  ‘ lifted  over  a pan  of  charcoal  at  the  door.’ 1 

We  shall  presently  see  that  these  are  no  isolated  cases, 
nor  is  the  act  of  lifting  the  bride  over  the  bridegroom’s 
threshold  an  act  without  a meaning.  I shall  presently 
mention  many  allied  customs,  to  the  importance  and 
significance  of  which  our  attention  has  recently  been 
called  by  Mr.  M‘Lennan,  in  his  masterly  work  on  ‘ Primi- 
tive Marriage.’ 

I will  now  attempt  to  trace  up  the  custom  of  marriage 
in  its  gradual  development.  In  the  Andaman  Islands,2 
Sir  Edward  Belcher  states  that  the  custom  is  for  the  man 
and  woman  to  remain  together  until  the  child  is  weaned, 
when  they  separate  as  a matter  of  course,  and  each  seeks 
a new  partner.  The  Bushmen  of  South  Africa  are  stated 
to  be  entirely  without  marriage.  Among  the  Nairs  (India), 
as  Buchanan  tells  us,  ‘ no  one  knows  his  father,  and  every 
man  looks  on  his  sister’s  children  as  his  heirs.’  The  Tee- 
hurs  of  Oude  ‘live  together  almost  indiscriminately  in 
large  communities,  and  even  when  two  people  are  re- 
garded as  married  the  tie  is  but  nominal.’ 3 Although  in 
this  state  of  things  marriage,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
term,  cannot  be  said  to  exist  at  all,  still,  for  the  sake  of 
convenience,  we  may  term  it  a condition  of  communal 
marriage  ; and  among  the  numerous  cases  in  which  more 
or  less  isolated  races  of  men  have  made  considerable  pro- 
gress in  some  directions,  while  remaining  very  backward 
in  others,  there  is  perhaps  hardly  any  more  remarkable 
case  than  the  backwardness  (until  lately)  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islanders  in  their  social  relations,  as  manifested 

1 Davis.  The  Chinese,  vol.  i.  p.  2S5.  Watson,  and  J.  W.  Kaye,  published 

2 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  v.  p.  45.  by  the  Indian  Government,  vol.  ii.  pL 

8 The  People  of  India,  by  J.  F.  85. 


RELATIONSHIPS  INDEPENDENT  OF  MARRIAGE.  G1 


in  their  language, 
thus  :■ — 

Hawciian. 


Kupuna  signifies 


Makua  kana  = 


Makua  waheena= 


Kaikee  kana  = 


Hunona 


This  is  shown  in  the  following  table 


< 


< 


English . 

^ Great  grandfather 
Great  great  uncle 
Great  grandmother 
Great  grand  aunt 
Grandfather 
Granduncle 
Grandmother 
Grandaunt 
Grandfather 
Granduncle 
Grandmother 
Grandaunt. 

f Father 

I Father’s  brother 
Father’s  brother-in-law 
Mother’s  brother 
Mother’s  brother-in-law 
Grandfather’s  brother’s  son. 


^Mother 
Mother’s  sister 

< Mother’s  sister-in-law 
Father’s  sister 

^Father’s  sister-in-law. 

-Son 

Sister’s  son 
Brother’s  son 
Brother’s  son’s  son 

< Brother’s  daughter’s  son 
Sister’s  son’s  son 
Sister’s  daughter’s  son 
Mother’s  sister’s  son’s  son 

^Mother’s  brother’s  son’s  son. 

{Brother’s  son’s  wife 

Brother’s  daughter’s  husband 

Sister’s  son’s  wife 

Sister’s  daughter’s  husband. 


62 


SOUTHSEA  SYSTEM  Oh  RELATIONSHIP, 


Waheena 


Kana 

Punalua 

Kaikoaka 


< 


fWife 

Wife’s  sister 
Brother’s  wife 
Wife’s  brother’s  wife 
Father’s  brother’s  son’s  wife 
Father’s  sister’s  son’s  wife 
Mother’s  sister’s  son’s  wife 
Mother’s  brother’s  son’s  wife. 
rHusband 
Husband’s  brother 
LSister’s  husband. 

Wife’s  sister’s  husband  (brother-in-law). 
Wife’s  brother. 


The  key  of  this  Hawaian  or  Sandwich  Island 1 system  is 
the  idea  conveyed  in  the  word  waheena  (woman).  Thns — 

{Wife 
Wife’s  sister 
Brother’s  wife 
Wife’s  brother’s  wife. 

All  these  are  equally  related  to  each  husband.  Hence  the 
word — 

Kaikee  = Child,  also  signifies  the  brother’s  wife’s  child ; 

and  no  doubt  the  wife’s  sister’s  child,  and  the  wife’s 
brother’s  wife’s  child.  So,  also,  as  the  sister  is  wife  to 
the  brother-in-law  (though  not  to  her  brother),  and  as  the 
brother-in-law  is  husband  to  his  brother’s  wife,  he  is  con- 
sequently a father  to  his  brother’s  children.  Hence 
‘ Kaikee’  also  means  ‘sister’s  son’  and  ‘brother’s  son.’ 
In  fact  ‘ Kaikee  ’ and  ‘ Waheena  ’ correspond  to  our  words 
‘ child  ’ and  ‘ woman,’  and  there  are  apparently  no  words 


Morgan,  Proceedings  of  the  American  Association,  1565. 


SOUTHSEA  SYSTEM  OP  RELATIONSHIP. 


63 


answering  to  c son/  ‘ daughter/  6 wife/  or  6 husband.’ 
That  this  does  not  arise  from  poverty  of  language  is 
evident,  because  the  same  system  discriminates  between 
other  relationships  which  we  do  not  distinguish. 

Perhaps  the  contrast  is  most  clearly  shown  in  the  terms 
for  brother-in-law  and  sister-in-law. 

Thus,  when  a woman  is  speaking — 


Sister-in-law  = husband’s  brother’s  wife  = pnnalna 
Sister-in-law  = husband’s  sister  = kaikoaka. 

But  brother-in-law  whether  sister’s  1 = k husband, 

husband  or  husband’s  brother  J 

When,  on  the  contrary,  a man  is  speaking — 

Sister-in-law  = wife’s  sister  = waheena,  i.e,  wife 
Sister-in-law  = brother’s  wife  = waheena,  i.e.  wife. 

And  so — 

Brother-in-law  = wife’s  brother  — kaikoaka 

Brother-in-law  = wife’s  sister’s  husband  = punalua. 

Thus  a woman  has  husbands  and  sisters -in-law,  but  no 
brothers  - in-law ; a man,  on  the  contrary,  has  wives  and 
brothers-in-law,  but  no  sisters-in-law.  The  same  idea 
runs  through  all  other  relationships  : cousins,  for  instance, 
are  called  brothers  and  sisters. 

So  again,  while  the  Romans  distinguished  between  the 


Father’s  brother  = patruus,  and  the  mother’s  brother  = 
avunculus 

Father’s  sister  = amita,  and  the  mother’s  sister  = 
matertera ; 


the  first  two  in  Hawaian  arc  makua  kana,  which  also 
signifies  father ; and  the  last  two  are  makua  waheena, 
which  also  means  mother. 

Thus  the  idea  of  marriage  does  not*  in  fact,  enter  into 


64 


TODA  SYSTEM  OF  RELATIONSHIP. 


the  Hawaian  system  of  relationship.  TJncleship,  auntship, 
cousinship,  are  ignored  ; and  we  have  only — 

Grandparents 

Parents 

Brothers  and  sisters 
Children  and 
Grandchildren. 

Here  it  is  clear  that  the  child  is  related  to  the  group. 
It  is  not  specially  related  either  to  its  father  or  its  mother, 
who  stand  in  the  same  relation  as  mere  uncles  and  aunts ; 
so  that  every  child  has  several  fathers  and  several  mothers. 

There  are,  I think,  reasons  in  the  social  habits  of  these 
islanders  which  go  far  to  explain  the  persistence  of  this 
archaic  nomenclature.  Prom  the  mildness  of  the  climate 
and  the  abundance  of  food,  children  soon  become  inde- 
pendent; the  prevalence  of  large  houses,  used  as  mere 
dormitories,  and  the  curious  prejudice  against  eating  in 
common,  must  also  have  greatly  tended  to  retard  the 
development  of  special  family  feelings.  Yet  the  system 
of  nomenclature  above  mentioned  did  not  correspond  with 
the  actual  state  of  society  as  found  by  Captain  Cook  and 
other  early  voyagers. 

Among  the  Todas  of  the  Neilgherry  Hills,  however, 
when  a man  marries  a girl  she  becomes  the  wife  of  all 
his  brothers  as  they  successively  reach  manhood;  and 
they  also  become  the  husbands  of  all  her  sisters  as  they 
become  old  enough  to  marry.  In  this  case  c the  first-born 
child  is  fathered  upon  the  eldest  brother,  the  next-born  on 
the  second,  and  so  on  throughout  the  series.  Notwith- 
standing this  unnatural  system,  the  Todas,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, exhibit  much  fondness  and  attachment  towards 
their  offspring ; more  so  than  their  practice  of  mixed 
intercourse  would  seem  to  foster.5 1 

1 Shortt.  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  vii.  p.  240. 


PREVALENCE  OF  ADOPTION. 


65 


In  the  Tottiyars  of  India,  also,  we  have  a case  in  which 
it  is  actually  recorded  that  ‘ brothers,  uncles,  and  nephews 
hold  their  wives  in  common/  1 So  also,  according  to 
Nicolaus, 2 the  Galactophagi  had  communal  marriage, 
‘ where  they  called  all  old  men  fathers,  young  men  sons, 
and  those  of  equal  age  brothers/  ‘ Among  the  Sioux  and 
some  other  North  American  tribes  the  custom  is  to  buy 
the  eldest  of  the  chiefs  daughters,  then  the  others  all 
belong  to  him,  and  are  taken  to  wife  at  such  times  as  the 
husband  sees  fit/  3 Such  social  conditions  as  these  tend 
to  explain  the  frequency  of  adoption  among  the  lower 
races  of  men,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  often  considered  to 
be  as  close  a connection  as  real  parentage.  Among  the 
Esquimaux,  Captain  Lyon  tells  us  that  6 this  curious  con- 
nection binds  the  parties  as  firmly  together  as  the  ties  of 
blood ; and  an  adopted  son,  if  senior  to  one  by  nature,  is 
the  heir  to  all  the  family  riches/  4 

In  Central  Africa,  Denham  states  that  the  practice  of 
adopting  children  is  very  prevalent  among  the  Felatahs ; 
and  though  they  have  sons  and  daughters  of  their  own, 
the  adopted  child  generally  becomes  heir  to  the  whole 
property/ 5 

‘ It  is  a custom/  says  Mariner,6  c in  the  Tonga  Islands  for 
women  to  be  what  they  call  mothers  to  children  or  grown- 
up young  persons  who  are  not  their  own,  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  them,  or  seeing  that  they  are  provided,  with 
all  the  conveniences  of  life  / this  is  often  done  even  if  the 
natural  mother  be  still  living,  in  which  case  the  adopted 
mother  4 is  regarded  the  same  as  the  natural  mother/ 

1 Dubois’  Description  of  the  People  5 Denham’s  Travels  in  Africa,  vol. 

of  India,  p.  3.  iv.  p.  131. 

2 Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht,  p.  21.  6 Mariner’s  Tonga  Islands,  vol.  iL 

3 Ethn.  Journal,  1869,  p.  286.  p.  98. 

Journal,  p.  353. 


66 


THE  MILK-TIE. 


Among  tlie  Romans,  also,  adoption  was  an  important 
feature,  and  was  effected  by  the  symbol  of  a mock  birth, 
without  which  it  was  not  regarded  as  complete.  This 
custom  seems  to  have  continued  down  to  the  time  of 
Nerva,  who,  in  adopting  Trajan,  transferred  the  cere- 
mony from  the  marriage-bed  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter.1 
Diodorus2  gives  a very  curious  account  of  the  same 
custom  as  it  existed  among  the  Greeks,  mentioning  that 
Juno  adopted  Hercules  by  going  through  a ceremony  of 
mock  birth. 

In  other  cases  the  symbol  of  adoption  represented  not 
the  birth,  but  the  milk- tie.  Thus,  in  Circassia,  the  woman 
offered  her  breast  to  the  person  she  was  adopting.  In 
Abyssinia,  Parkyn  tells  us  that  ‘ if  a man  wishes  to  be 
adopted  as  the  son  of  one  of  superior  station  or  influence, 
he  takes  his  hand,  and,  sucking  one  of  his  fingers,  declares 
himself  to  be  his  “ child  by  adoption  and  his  new  father 
is  bound  to  assist  him  as  far  as  he  can.’ 3 

The  same  idea  underlies  perhaps  the  curious  Esquimaux 
habit  of  licking  anything  which  is  presented  to  them, 
apparently  in  token  of  ownership. 4 

Dieffenbach5  also  mentions  the  practice  of  licking  a 
present  in  New  Zealand;  here,  however,  it  is  the  donor 
who  does  so.  In  the  Tonga  Islands,  Captain  Cook  tells  us 
that  the  natives  ‘ have  a singular  custom  of  putting  every- 
thing you  give  them  to  their  heads,  by  way  of  thanks  as  we 
conjectured.’ 6 

Assuming  then  that  the  communal  marriage  system 
shown  in  the  preceding  pages  to  prevail,  or  have  prevailed, 
so  widely  among  races  in  a low  stage  of  civilisation,  repre- 
sents the  primitive  and  earliest  social  condition  of  man,  we 

1 Das  Mutterrecht,  p.  254.  p<  34. 

2 IV.  39.  See  Appendix.  5 New  Zealand,  vol.  ii.  p.  104. 

3 Parkyn’s  Abyssinia,  p.  198.  6 Voyage  towards  the  South  Pole, 

4 Franklin’s  Journeys,  1819-22,  vol.  i vol.  i.  p.  221. 


ORIGINAL  OR  COMMUNAL  MARRIAGE. 


67 


Blow  come  to  consider  the  various  ways  in  which  it  may 
have  been  broken  up  and  replaced  by  individual  marriage. 

Montesquieu  lays  it  down,  almost  as  an  axiom,  that 
‘ ^obligation  naturelle  qu’a  le  pere  de  nourrir  ses  enfants 
a fait  etablir  le  mariage,  qui  declare  celui  qui  doit  remplir 
cette  obligation/  1 Elsewhere  he  states  that  ‘il  est  arrive 
dans  tous  les  pays  et  dans  tons  les  temps  que  la  religion 
s’est  melee  des  manages/  2 How  far  these  assertions  are 
from  the  truth  will  be  conclusively  shown  in  the  following 
pages. 

Bachofen  3 and  McLennan,4  the  two  most  recent  authors 
who  have  studied  this  subject,  both  agree  that  the  primi- 
tive condition  of  man,  socially,  was  one  of  pure  Hetairism,5 
when  marriage  did  not  exist ; or  as  we  may  perhaps  for 
convenience  call  it,  Communal  marriage,  where  every  man 
and  woman  in  a small  community  were  regarded  as  equally 
married  to  one  another. 

Bachofen  considers  that  after  awhile  the  women,  shocked 
and  scandalised  by  such  a state  of  things,  revolted  against 
it,  and  established  a system  of  marriage  with  female 
supremacy,  the  husband  being  subject  to  the  wife,  pro- 
perty and  descent  being  considered  to  go  in  the  female 
line,  and  women  enjoying  the  principal  share  of  political 
power.  The  first  period  he  calls  that  of  c Hetairism ; 5 
the  second  of  ‘ Mutterrecht,  or  motherright/ 

In  the  third  stage  he  considers  that  the  ethereal  in- 
fluence of  the  father  prevailed  over  the  more  material  idea 
of  motherhood.  Men  claimed  preeminence,  property  and 
descent  were  traced  in  the  male  line,  sun  worship  super- 
seded moon  worship,  and  many  other  changes  in  social 
organisation  took  place, — mainly  because  it  came  to  be 
recognised  that  the  creative  influence  of  the  father  was  more 

1 Esprit  des  Lois,  vol.  ii.  p.  186.  4 Primitive  Marriage. 

2 Loc.  cit.  p.  299.  5 ibid,  xviii.  xix. 

8 Das  Mutterrecht. 


68 


ORIGIN  OF  MARRIAGE* 


important  than  the  material  tie  of  motherhood.  The  father 
in  fact  was  the  author  of  life,  the  mother  a mere  nurse. 

Thus,  he  regards  the  first  stage  as  lawless,  the  second 
as  material,  the  third  as  spiritual.  I believe,  however, 
that  communities  in  which  women  have  exercised  the 
supreme  power  are  rare  and  exceptional,  if  indeed  they 
ever  existed  at  all.  We  do  not  find  in  history,  as  a matter 
of  fact,  that  women  do  assert  their  rights,,  and  savage 
women  would,  I think,  be  peculiarly  unlikely  to  uphold  their 
dignity  in  the  manner  supposed.  On  the  contrary,  among 
the  lowest  races  of  men,  as,  for  instance,  in  Australia,  the 
position  of  the  women  is  one  of  complete  subjection, 
and  it  seems  to  me  perfectly  clear  that  the  idea  of  marriage 
is  founded  on  the  rights,  not  of  the  woman,  but  of  the 
man,  being  an  illustration  of 

the  good  old  plan, 

That  he  should  take  who  has  the  power, 

And  he  should  keep  who  can. 

Among  low  races  the  wife  is  indeed  literally  the  pro- 
perty of  the  husband ; as  Petruchio  says  of  Catherine  : 

I will  be  master  of  what  is  mine  own. 

She  is  my  goods,  my  chattels  ; she  is  my  house, 

My  household  stuff,  my  field,  my  barn, 

My  horse,  my  ox,  my  ass,  my  anything. 

So  thoroughly  is  this  the  case  that,  as  I have  already 
mentioned  a Homan’s  ‘ family’  originally,  and  indeed 
throughout  classical  times,  meant  his  slaves,  and  the  chil- 
dren only  formed  part  of  the  family  because  they  were  his 
slaves  ; so  that  if  a father  freed  his  son,  the  latter  ceased 
to  be  one  of  the  family,  and  had  no  part  in  the  inherit- 
ance. Nay,  even  at  the  present  day,  in  some  parts  of 
Africa,  a man’s  property  goes,  not  to  his  children,  as  such, 
but  to  his  slaves. 


bachofer’s  views. 


69 


Hearne  tells  us,  that  among  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Indians 
6 it  has  ever  been  the  custom  for  the  men  to  wrestle  for 
any  woman  to  whom  they  are  attached ; and,  of  course, 
the  strongest  party  always  carries  off  the  prize.  A weak 
man,  unless  he  be  a good  hunter  and  well  beloved,  is 
seldom  permitted  to  keep  a wife  that  a stronger  man 
thinks  worth  his  notice.  . . . This  custom  prevails 
throughout  all  their  tribes,  and  causes  a great  spirit  of 
emulation  among  their  youth,  who  are  upon  all  occasions, 
from  their  childhood,  trying  their  strength  and  skill  in 
wrestling.’ 1 Franklin  also  says  that  the  Copper  Indians 
hold  women  in  the  same  low  estimation  as  the  Chipe- 
wyans  do,  6 looking  upon  them  as  a kind  of  property,  which 
the  stronger  may  take  from  the  weaker ; ’ 2 and  Richard 
son  3 ‘ more  than  once  saw  a stronger  man  assert  his  right 
to  take  the  wife  of  a weaker  countryman.  Anyone  may 
challenge  another  to  wrestle,  and,  if  he  overcomes,  may 
carry  off  the  wife  as  the  prize.’  Yet  the  women  never 
dream  of  protesting  against  this,  which,  indeed,  seems  to 
them  perfectly  natural.  The  theory  therefore  of  Dr. 
Bachofen,  and  the  sequence  of  social  customs  suggested  by 
him,  although  supported  with  much  learning,  cannot,  I 
think,  be  regarded  as  correct.4 

McLennan,  like  Bachofen,  starts  with  a stage  of 
hetairism  or  communal  marriage.  The  next  stage  was, 
in  his  opinion,  that  form  of  polyandry  in  which  brothers 
had  their  wives  in  common ; afterwards  came  that  of  the 
levirate , i.e.  the  system  under  which,  when  an  elder  brother 
died,  his  second  brother  married  the  widow,  and  so  on 
with  the  others  in  succession.  Thence  he  considers  that 
some  tribes  branched  off  into  endogamy,  others  into 

1 Hearne,  p.  104.  • p.  24. 

2 Journey  to  the  Shores  of  the  Polar  4 See  for  instance  Lewin’s  Hill 

Seas,  vol.  viii.  p.  43.  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  pp.  47,  77,  80, 

3 Richardson’s  Boat  Journey,  vol.  ii.  3,  98,  101. 


70 


m‘lennan’s  views. 


exogamy ; 1 that  is  to  say,  some  forbade  marriage  out  of, 
others  within,  the  tribe.  If  either  of  these  two  systems 
was  older  than  the  other,  he  considers  that  exogamy 
must  have  been  the  most  ancient.  Exogamy  was  based 
on  infanticide,2  and  led  to  the  practice  of  marriage  by 
capture.3 

In  a further  stage  the  idea  of  female  descent,  producing 
as  it  would  a division  in  the  tribe,  obviated  the  necessity 
of  capture  as  a reality  and  reduced  it  to  a symbol. 

In  support  of  this  view  Mr.  M‘Lennan  has  certainly 
brought  forward  many  striking  facts ; but,  while  admitting 
that  it  probably  represents  the  succession  of  events  in 
some  cases,  I cannot  but  think  that  these  are  exceptional. 
* Fully  admitting  the  prevalence  of  infanticide  among 
savages,  it  will,  I think,  be  found  that  among  the  lowest 
races,  boys  were  killed  as  frequently  as  girls.  Eyre  ex- 
pressly states  that  this  was  the  case  in  Australia.4  In 
fact  the  distinction  between  the  sexes  implies  an  amount 
of  forethought,  and  prudence,  which  the  lower  races  of 
men  do  not  possess. 

For  reasons  to  be  given  shortly,  I believe  that  com- 
munal marriage  was  gradually  superseded  by  individual 
marriage  founded  on  capture,  and  that  this  led  firstly  to 
exogamy  and  then  to  female  infanticide ; thus  reversing 
M‘Lennan’s  order  of  sequence.  Endogamy  and  regulated 
polyandry,  though  frequent,  I regard  as  exceptional,  and 
as  not  entering  into  the  normal  progress  of  development. 

Like  McLennan  and  Bachofen,  I believe  that  our  present 
social  relations  have  arisen  from  an  initial  stage  of 
hetairism  or  communal  marriage.  It  is  obvious,  how- 
ever, that  even  under  communal  marriage,  a warrior  who 
had  captured  a beautiful  girl  in  some  marauding  expe- 


1 Loc.  cit.  p.  145. 

2 Loc.  cit . p.  138. 


3 Loc.  cit . p.  140. 

4 Discoveries,  &c.,  vol.  ii.  p.  324. 


THE  TEUE  EXPLANATION. 


71 


dition  would  claim  a peculiar  right  to  her,  and,  when 
possible,  would  set  custom  at  defiance.  We  have  already 
seen  that  there  are  other  cases  of  the  existence  of  marriage 
under  two  forms  side  by  side  in  one  country ; and  there 
is,  therefore,  no  real  difficulty  in  assuming  the  co-existence 
of  communal  and  individual  marriage.  It  is  true  that 
under  a communal  marriage  system  no  man  could  ap- 
propriate a girl  entirely  to  himself  without  infringing  the 
rights  of  the  whole  tribe.  Such  an  act  would  naturally 
be  looked  on  with  jealousy,  and  only  regarded  as  justifiable 
under  peculiar  circumstances.  A war-captive,  however, 
was  in  a peculiar  position  : the  tribe  had  no  right  to  her ; 
her  capturer  might  have  killed  her  if  he  chose ; if  he  pre- 
ferred to  keep  her  alive  he  was  at  liberty  to  do  so ; he 
did  as  he  liked,  and  the  tribe  was  no  sufferer. 

McLennan,1  indeed,  says  that  c it  is  impossible  to  believe 
that  the  mere  lawlessness  of  savages  should  be  consecrated 
into  a legal  symbol,  or  to  assign  a reason — could  this  be 
believed — why  a similar  symbol  should  not  appear  in 
transferences  of  other  kinds  of  property/  The  symbol  of 
capture,  however,  was  not  one  of  lawlessness,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  of — according  to  the  ideas  of  the  time — lawful 
possession.  It  did  not  refer  to  those  from  whom  the 
captive  was  taken,  but  was  intended  to  bar  the  rights  of 
the  tribe  into  which  she  was  introduced.  Individual 
marriage  was,  in  fact,  an  infringement  of  communal 
rights ; the  man  retaining  to  himself,  or  the  man  and 
woman  mutually  appropriating  to  one  another,  that  which 
should  have  belonged  to  the  whole  tribe.  Thus,  among 
the  Andamaners,  any  woman  who  attempted  to  resist  the 
marital  privileges  claimed  by  any  member  of  the  tribe  was 
liable  to  severe  punishment.2 

Nor  is  it,  I think,  difficult  to  understand  why  the  symbol 


1 Loc.  cit.  p.  44. 


2 See  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.  S.  vol.  ii.  p.  35. 


72 


ORIGIN  OP  MARRIAGE  BY  CAPTURE. 


of  capture  does  not  appear  in  transferences  of  other  kinds 
of  property.  Every  generation  requires  fresh  wives ; the 
actual  capture,  or  at  any  rate  the  symbol,  needed  there- 
fore repetition.  This,  however,  does  not  apply  to  land; 
when  once  the  idea  of  landed  property  arose,  the  same 
land  descended  from  owner  to  owner.  In  other  kinds  of 
property  again,  there  is  an  important,  though  different 
kind  of,  distinction.  A man  made  his  own  bow  and  arrows, 
his  own  hut,  his  own  arms ; hence  the  necessity  of  capture 
did  not  exist,  and  the  symbol  would  not  arise. 

McLennan  supposes  that  savages  were  driven  by  female 
infanticide,  and  the  consequent  absence  or  paucity  of 
women,  into  exogamy  and  marriage  by  capture.  I shall 
presently  give  my  reasons  for  rejecting  this  explanation. 

He  also  considers  that  marriage  by  capture  followed, 
and  arose  from,  that  remarkable  custom,  namely,  of  marry- 
ing always  out  of  the  tribe,  for  which  he  has  proposed  the 
appropriate  name  of  exogamy.  On  the  contrary,  I believe 
that  exogamy  arose  from  marriage  by  capture,  not  marriage 
by  capture  from  exogamy  : that  capture,  and  capture  alone, 
could  give  a man  the  right  to  monopolise  a woman,  to  the 
exclusion  of  his  fellow-clansmen ; and  that  hence,  even 
after  all  necessity  for  actual  capture  had  long  ceased,  the 
symbol  remained;  capture  having,  by  long  habit,  come 
to  be  received  as  a necessary  preliminary  to  marriage. 

That  marriage  by  capture  has  not  arisen  from  female 
modesty  is,  I think,  evident,  not  only  because  we  have  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  such  a feeling  prevails  specially 
among  the  lower  races  of  man,  but  also,  firstly,  because 
it  cannot  explain  the  mock  resistance  of  the  relatives,  and 
secondly,  because  the  very  question  to  be  solved  is  why  it 
has  become  so  generally  the  custom  to  win  the  female 
not  by  persuasion  but  by  force. 

M£Lennan’s  view  throws  no  light  on  the  remarkable 


PREVALENCE  OF  MARRIAGE  BY  CAPTURE. 


73 


ceremonies  of  expiation  for  marriage,  to  which  I shall 
presently  call  attention. 

I will,  however,  first  proceed  to  show  how  widely  ‘ cap- 
ture/ either  actual  or  symbolical,  enters  into  the  idea  of 
marriage.  Mr.  McLennan  was,  I believe,  the  first  to 
appreciate  its  importance.  I have  taken  some  of  the 
following  evidence  from  his  valuable  work,  adding,  how- 
ever, several  additional  cases. 

It  requires  strong  evidence,  which,  indeed,  exists  in 
abundance,  to  satisfy  us  that  the  origin  of  marriage  is 
independent  of  all  sacred  and  social  considerations ; that 
it  had  nothing  to  do  with  mutual  affection  or  consent ; 
that  it  was  invalidated  by  any  appearance  of  consent; 
and  t hat  it  is  tobe  symbolised  not  by  any  demonstration 
of  warm  affection  on  the  one  side,  and  tender  devotion  on 
the  other,  but  by  brutal  violence  and  unwilling  submission. 

Yet,  as  already  mentioned,  the  evidence  is  overwhelm- 
ing. So  completely  did  the  Caribs  supply  themselves  with 
wives  from  the  neighbouring  races,  and  so  little  communi- 
cation did  they  hold  with  them,  that  the  men  and  women 
actually  spoke  different  languages.  So  again  in  Australia 
(PI.  III.)  the  men,  says  Oldfield,  c are  in  excess  of  the  other 
sex,  and,  consequently,  many  men  of  every  tribe  are  unpro- 
vided with  that  especial  necessary  to  their  comfortable 
subsistence,  a wife ; who  is  a slave  in  the  strictest  sense 
of  the  word,  being  a beast  of  burden,  a provider  of  food, 
and  a ready  object  on  which  to  vent  those  passions  that 
the  men  do  not  dare  to  vent  on  each  other.  Hence,  for 
those  coveting  such  a luxury,  arises  the  necessity  of  steal- 
ing the  women  of  some  other  tribe ; and,  in  their  expedi- 
tions to  effect  so  laudable  a design,  they  will  cheerfully 
undergo  privations  and  dangers  equal  to  those  they  incur 
when  in  search  of  blood-revenge.  When,  on  such  an 
errand,  they  discover  an  unprotected  female,  their  pro- 


74 


ORIGINALLY  A REALITY. 


ceedings  are  not  of  the  most  gentle  nature.  Stunning 
her  by  a blow  from  the  dowak  (to  make  her  love  them, 
perhaps),  they  drag  her  by  the  hair  to  the  nearest  thicket 
to  await  her  recovery.  When  she  comes  to  her  senses 
they  force  her  to  accompany  them ; and  as  at  worst  it  is 
but  the  exchange  of  one  brutal  lord  for  another,  she  gene- 
rally enters  into  the  spirit  of  the  affair,  and  takes  as  much 
pains  to  escape  as  though  it  were  a matter  of  her  own  free 
choice.’ 1 

The  following  is  the  manner  in  which  the  natives  about 
Sydney  used  to  procure  wives : — ‘ The  poor  wretch  is 
stolen  upon  in  the  absence  of  her  protectors.  Being  first 
stupified  with  blows,  inflicted  with  clubs  or  wooden  swords, 
on  the  head,  back,  and  shoulders,  every  one  of  which  is 
followed  by  a stream  of  blood,  she  is  then  dragged  through 
the  woods  by  one  arm,  with  a perseverance  and  violence 
that  it  might  be  supposed  would  displace  it  from  its  socket. 
The  lover,  or  rather  the  ravisher,  is  regardless  of  the  stones 
or  broken  pieces  of  trees  which  may  lie  in  his  route,  being 
anxious  only  to  convey  his  prize  in  safety  to  his  own  party, 
when  a scene  ensues  too  shocking  to  relate.  This  outrage 
is  not  resented  by  the  relations  of  the  female,  who  only 
retaliate  by  a similar  outrage  when  they  find  an  oppor- 
tunity. This  is  so  constantly  the  practice  among  them 
that  even  the  children  make  it  a play-game  or  exercise.’ 2 

In  Bali,3  one  of  the  islands  between  Java  and  New 
Guinea,  also  it  is  stated  to  be  the  practice  that  girls  are 
‘ stolen  away  by  their  brutal  lovers,  who  sometimes  sur- 
prise them  alone,  or  overpower  them  by  the  way,  and 
carry  them  off  with  dishevelled  hair  and  tattered  gar- 
ments to  the  woods.  When  brought  back  from  thence, 
and  reconciliation  is  effected  with  enraged  friends,  the 

1 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p.  250.  3 Notices  of  the  Indian  Archipelago^ 

2 Collins’s  English  Colony  in  New  p.  90. 

South  Wales,  p.  362. 


AUSTRALIAN  ABORIGINAL  MARRIAGE  CEREMONY. 


SUBSEQUENTLY  A FORM. 


75 


poor  female  becomes  tlie  slave  of  her  rough  lover,  by  a 
certain  compensation-price  being  paid  to  her  relatives.5 

So  deeply  rooted  is  the  feeling  of  a connection  between 
force  and  marriage,  that  we  find  the  former  used  as  a 
form  long  after  all  necessity  for  it  had  ceased ; and  it  is 
very  interesting  to  trace,  as  Mr.  McLennan  has  done,  the 
gradual  stages  through  which  a stern  reality  softens 
down  into  a mere  symbol. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  if  we  assume  the  case  of  a coun- 
try in  which  there  are  four  certain  neighbouring  tribes, 
'who  have  the  custom  of  exogamy,  and  who  trace  pedi- 
grees through  the  mother,  and  not  through  the  father — 
a custom  which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  is  so  common 
that  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  usual  one  among  the  lower 
races — after  a certain  time  the  result  would  be  that  each 
tribe  would  consist  of  four  septs  or  clans,  representing 
the  four  original  tribes,  and  hence  we  should  find  com- 
munities in  which  each  tribe  is  divided  into  clans,  and  a 
man  must  always  marry  a woman  of  a different  clan.  But 
as  communities  become  larger  and  more  civilised,  the 
actual  ‘ capture 5 became  inconvenient,  and  at  last  im- 
possible. 

Gradually  therefore  it  came  to  be  more  and  more  a mock 
ceremony,  forming,  however,  a necessary  part  of  the 
marriage  ceremony.  Of  this  many  cases  might  be  given. 

Speaking  of  the  Khonds  of  Orissa,  Major-General 
Campbell  says  that  on  one  occasion  he  c heard  loud  cries 
proceeding  from  a village  close  at  hand;  fearing  some 
quarrel,  I rode  to  the  spot,  and  there  I saw  a man  bear- 
ing away  upon  his  back  something  enveloped  in  an  ample 
covering  of  scarlet  cloth ; he  was  surrounded  by  twenty 
or  thirty  young  fellows,  and  by  them  protected  from  the 
desperate  attacks  made  upon  him  by  a party  of  young 
women.  On  seeking  an  explanation  of  this  novel  scene. 


76 


HINDOSTAN — MALAY  PENINSULA. 


I was  told  that  the  man  had  just  been  married,  and  his 
precious  burden  was  his  blooming  bride,  whom  he  was 
conveying  to  his  own  village.  Her  youthful  friends  (as 
it  appears  is  the  custom)  were  seeking  to  regain  posses- 
sion of  her,  and  hurled  stones  and  bamboos  at  the  head  of 
the  devoted  bridegroom,  until  he  reached  the  confines  of 
his  own  village/  1 

Sir  W.  Elliot  also  mentions  that  not  only  amongst  the 
Khonds,  but  also  in  ‘ several  other  tribes  of  Central  India, 
the  bridegroom  seizes  his  bride  by  force,  either  affected  or 
real ; ’ 2 and  the  same  was  customary  among  the  Badagas 
of  the  Neilgherry  Hills.3 

Dalton  mentions  that  among  the  Kols  of  Central  India, 
when  the  price  of  a girl  has  been  arranged,  ‘ the  bride- 
groom and  a large  party  of  his  friends  of  both  sexes  enter 
with  much  singing  and  dancing',  and  sham  fighting  in  the 
village  of  the  bride,  where  they  meet  the  bride’s  party, 
and  are  hospitably  entertained.  ’ 4 

M.  Bourien5  thus  describes  the  marriage  ceremony 
among  the  wild  tribes  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  : — ‘ When 
all  are  assembled,  and  all  ready,  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom are  led  by  one  of  the  old  men  of  the  tribe,  towards 
a circle  more  or  less  great,  according  to  the  presumed 
strength  of  the  intended  pair ; the  girl  runs  round  first, 
and  the  young  man  pursues  a short  distance  behind ; if 
he  succeed  in  reaching  her  and  retaining  her,  she  becomes 
his  wife ; if  not,  he  loses  all  claim  to  her.  At  other 
times,  a larger  field  is  appointed  for  the  trial,  and  they 
pursue  one  another  in  the  forest.  The  race,  according 
co  the  words  of  the  chronicle,  “ is  not  to  the  swift  nor 

1 Quoted  in  M‘Lennan’s  Primitive  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  p.  36,  80. 

Marriage,  p.  28.  4 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  24. 

2 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1869,  p.  125.  See  also  p.  27,  and  the  Tribes  of  India, 

3 Metz.  The  tribes  of  the  Neilgher-  vol.  i.  p.  15. 

ries,  p.  74.  See  also  Lewin’s  Hill  5 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1865,  p.  81. 


KALMUCKS — TUKGUSES — KAMCHADALES.  77 

the  battle  to  the  strong/5  but  to  the  young  man  who 
Las  had  the  good  fortune  to  please  the  intended  bride.5 

Among  the  Kalmucks,  Dr.  Hell  tells  us  that  after  the 
price  of  the  girl  has  been  duly  agreed  on,  when  the  bride- 
groom comes  with  his  friends  to  carry  off  his  bride,  ‘ a 
sham  resistance  is  always  made  by  the  people  of  her 
camp,  in  spite  of  which  she  fails  not  to  be  borne  away  on 
a richly  caparisoned  horse,  with  loud  shouts  and  feu  de 
joie.5 1 

Dr.  Clarke  2 gives  a charmingly  romantic  account  of  the 
ceremony.  6 The  girl,5  he  says  ‘ is  first  mounted,  who 
rides  off  in  full  speed.  Her  lover  pursues ; if  he  overtakes 
her,  she  becomes  his  wife,  and  the  marriage  is  consum- 
mated on  the  spot;  after  this  she  returns  with  him  to  his 
tent.  But  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  woman  does 
not  wish  to  marry  the  person  by  whom  she  is  pursued  ; 
in  this  case,  she  will  not  suffer  him  to  overtake  her.  We 
were  assured  that  no  instance  occurs  of  a Kalmuck  girl 
being  thus  caught,  unless  she  have  a partiality  to  the  pur- 
sued. If  she  dislikes  him,  she  rides,  to  use  the  language 
of  English  sportsmen,  “ neck  or  nought, 55  until  she  has 
completely  effected  her  escape,  or  until  her  pursuer’s  horse 
becomes  exhausted,  leaving  her  at  liberty  to  return,  and 
to  be  afterwards  chased  by  some  more  favoured  admirer.5 

4 Among  the  Tunguses  and  Kamchadales,5  says  Ernan,3 
6 a matrimonial  engagement  is  not  definitively  arranged 
and  concluded  until  the  suitor  has  got  the  better  of  his 
beloved  by  force,  and  has  torn  her  clothes.5  Attacks  on 
women  are  not  allowed  to  be  avenged  by  blood,  unless 
they  take  place  within  the  yourt  or  house.  The  man  is 
not  regarded  as  to  blame,  if  the  woman  ‘ has  ventured  to 

1 M‘Lennan’s  Primitive  Marriage,  3 Travels  in  Siberia,  vol.  ii.  p.  442. 

p.  30.  See  also  Karnes’  History  of  Man,  vol. 

2 Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  332.  ii.  p.  58. 


78 


MONGOLS  —ESQUIMAUX. 


leave  her  natural  place,  the  sacred  and  protecting  hearth.5 
Pallas  observes  that  in  his  time,  marriage  by  capture 
prevailed  also  among  the  Samoyedes.1 

Among  the  Mongols2  when  a marriage  is  arranged, 
the  girl  ‘ flies  to  some  relations  to  hide  herself.  The 
bridegroom  coming  to  demand  his  wife,  the  father-in-law 
says,  “ My  daughter  is  yours  ; go,  take  her  wherever  you 
can  find  her.55  Having  thus  obtained  his  warrant,  he, 
with  his  friends,  runs  about  searching ; and  having  found 
her,  seizes  her  as  his  property,  and  carries  her  home  as  it 
were  by  force. 

In  the  Korea  when  a man  marries,  he  mounts  on 
horseback,  attended  by  his  friends,  and,  having  ridden 
about  the  town,  stops  at  the  bride’s  door,  where  he  is 
received  by  her  relations,  who  then  carry  her  to  his  house, 
and  the  ceremony  is  complete.5  3 

Among  the  Esquimaux  of  Cape  York  (Smith  Sound) 
according  to  Dr.  Hayes,4  there  is  no  marriage  ceremony 
further  than  that  the  boy  is  required  to  carry  off  his 
bride  by  main  force ; for,  even  among  these  blubber-eating 
people,  the  woman  only  saves  her  modesty  by  a sham 
resistance,  although  she  knows  years  beforehand  that 
her  destiny  is  sealed,  and  that  she  is  to  become  the  wife 
of  the  man  from  whose  embraces,  when  the  nuptial  day 
comes,  she  is  obliged  by  the  inexorable  law  of  public 
opinion  to  free  herself  if  possible,  by  kicking  and  scream- 
ing with  might  and  main,  until  she  is  safely  landed  in 
the  hut  of  her  future  lord,  when  she  gives  up  the  combat 
very  cheerfully  and  takes  possession  of  her  new  abode. 

In  Greenland,  according  to  Egede,  6 when  a young  man 
likes  a maiden  he  commonly  proposes  it  to  their  parents 

1 Vol.  iv.  p.  97.  See  also  Astley’s  3 Ibid.  p.  342. 

Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  575.  4 Open  Polar  Sea,  p.  432. 

2 Astley,  vol.  iv.  p.  77. 


SOUTH  AMERICANS — FIJIANS. 


79 


and  relations  on  both  sides;  and  after  he  has  obtained 
their  consent,  he  gets  two  or  more  old  women  to  fetch  the 
bride  (and  if  he  is  a stout  fellow  he  will  fetch  her  himself). 
They  go  to  the  place  where  the  young  woman  is,  and  carry 
her  away  by  force/  1 

We  have  already  seen  (p.  69)  that  marriage  by  capture 
exists  in  full  force  among  the  Northern  Redskins. 

The  aborigines  of  the  Amazon  Yalley,  says  Wallace,2 
4 have  no  particular  ceremony  at  their  marriages,  except 
that  of  always  carrying  away  the  girl  by  force,  or  making 
a show  of  doing  so,  even  when  she  and  her  parents  are 
quite  willing/ 

M.  Bardel,  in  the  notes  to  D’Urville’s  Yoyage,  mentions 
that  among  the  Indians  round  Conception  in  South 
America,  after  a man  has  agreed  on  the  price  of  a girl 
with  her  parents,  he  surprises  her,  and  carries  her  off  to 
the  woods  for  a few  days,  after  which  the  happy  couple 
return  home.3 

In  Tierra  del  Fuego,  as  Admiral  Fitzroy  tells  us,4  as 
soon  c as  a youth  is  able  to  maintain  a wife  by  his  exer- 
tions in  fishing  or  birdcatching,  he  obtains  the  con- 
sent of  her  relations,  and  ....  having  built  or  stolen 
a canoe  for  himself,  he  watches  for  an  opportunity,  and 
carries  off  his  bride.  If  she  is  unwilling  she  hides  her- 
self in  the  woods  until  her  admirer  is  heartily  tired  of 
looking  for  her,  and  gives  up  the  pursuit,  but  this  seldom 
happens/ 

Williams  mentions,  as  prevailing  among  the  Fijians, 
the  custom  ‘ of  seizing  upon  a woman  by  apparent  or 
actual  force,  in  order  to  make  her  a wife.  On  reaching 
the  home  of  her  abductor,  should  she  not  approve  of  the 

1 History  of  Greenland,  p.  143.  4 Yoyage  of  the  Adventure  and 

2 Travels  in  the  Amazons,  p.  497.  Beagle,  vol.  ii.  p.  182. 

3 Vol.  iii.  p.  277,  and  22. 


80 


POLYNESIANS. 


match,  she  runs  to  some  one  who  can  protect  her ; if,  how- 
ever, she  is  satisfied,  the  matter  is  settled  forthwith ; a 
feast  is  given  to  her  friends  the  next  morning,  and  the 
couple  are  thenceforward  considered  as  man  and  wife.5 1 

Earle 2 gives  the  following  account  of  marriage  in  New 
Zealand,  which  he  regards  as  * most  extraordinary,5  while  in 
reality  it  is,  as  we  now  see,  nothing  of  the  sort : 4 The  New 
Zealand  method  of  courtship  and  matrimony  is,5  he  says, 
4 most  extraordinary ; so  much  so  that  an  observer  could 
never  imagine  any  affection  existed  between  the  parties. 
A man  sees  a woman  whom  he  fancies  he  should  like  for  a 
wife ; he  asks  the  consent  of  her  father,  or,  if  an  orphan, 
of  her  nearest  relation ; which,  if  he  obtains,  he  carries 
his  44  intended 55  off  by  force,  she  resisting  with  all  her 
strength;  and,  as  the  New  Zealand  girls  are  generally 
pretty  robust,  sometimes  a dreadful  struggle  takes  place  ; 
both  are  soon  stripped  to  the  skin ; and  it  is  sometimes 
the  work  of  hours  to  remove  the  fair  prize  a hundred  yards. 
If  she  breaks  away  she  instantly  flies  from  her  antagonist, 
and  he  has  his  labour  to  commence  again.  We  may  sup- 
pose that  if  the  lady  feels  any  wish  to  be  united  to  her 
would-be  spouse  she  will  not  make  too  violent  an  opposi- 
tion ; but  it  sometimes  happens  that  she  secures  her  re- 
treat into  her  father’s  house,  and  the  lover  loses  all  chance 
of  ever  obtaining  her  ; whereas,  if  he  can  manage  to  carry 
her  in  triumph  into  his  own,  she  immediately  becomes  his 
wife.5 

Even  after  a marriage,  it  is  customary  in  New  Zealand  to 
have  a mock  scuffle.  Mr.  Yate 3 gives  a good  illustration. 
There  was,  he  says,  4 a little  opposition  to  the  wedding, 
but  not  till  it  was  over,  as  is  always  the  custom  here. 
The  bride’s  mother  came  to  me  the  preceding  afternoon, 

1 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  174.  3 Yate’s  New  Zealand,  p.  9ti. 

8 Residence  in  New  Zealand,  p.  244. 


POLYNESIANS. 


81 


and  said  she  was  well  pleased  in  her  heart  that  her  daughter 
was  going  to  be  married  to  Pahau ; but  that  she  must  be 
angry  about  it  with  her  mouth  in  the  presence  of  her 
tribe,  lest  the  natives  should  come  and  take  away  all  her 
possessions,  and  destroy  her  crops.  This  is  customary  on 
all  occasions.  If  a chief  meets  with  an  accident  he  is 
stripped,  as  a mark  of  respect ; if  he  marries  a wife  he  has 
to  lose  all  his  property ; and  this  is  done  out  of  respect — 
not  from  disrespect,  as  it  was  once  printed,  inadvertently, 
in  an  official  publication.  A chief  would  think  himself 
slighted  if  his  food  and  garments  were  not  taken  away 
from  him  upon  many  occasions.  To  prevent  this  Manga, 
the  old  mother,  acted  with  policy.  As  I was  returning, 
therefore,  from  the  church  with  the  bridegroom  and  bride, 
she  met  the  procession  and  began  to  assail  us  all  furiously. 
She  put  on  a most  terrific  countenance,  threw  her  garments 
about,  and  tore  her  hair  like  a fury ; then  said  to  me,  “ Ah, 
you  white  missionary,  you  are  worse  than  the  devil : you 
first  make  a slave-lad  your  son  by  redeeming  him  from  his 
master,  and  then  marry  him  to  my  daughter,  who  is  a 
lady.  I will  tear  your  eyes  out!  I will  tear  your  eyes 
out ! ” The  old  woman,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word, 
feigned  a scratch  at  my  face,  at  the  same  time  saying  in 
an  under  tone  that  it  was  “ all  mouth  ” and  that  she  did 
not  mean  what  she  said.  I told  her  I should  stop  her 
mouth  with  a blanket.  “ Ha,  ha,  ha  ! 55  she  replied ; 
u that  was  all  I wanted  : I only  wanted  to  get  a blanket, 
and  therefore  I made  this  noise.”  The  whole  affai*  went 
off  after  this  remarkably  well;  all  seemed  to  enjoy  them- 
selves ; and  everyone  was  satisfied.5  It  is  evident,  how- 
ever, that  Yate  did  not  thoroughly  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  scene. 

Among  the  Ahitas  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  when  a 
man  wishes  to  marry  a girl,  her  parents  send  her  before 


5 


82  MARRIAGE  BY  CAPTURE  AMONG  THE  NEGROES, 

sunrise  into  tlie  woods.  She  has  an  hour’s  start,  after 
which  the  lover  goes  to  seek  her.  If  he  finds  her  and 
brings  her  back  before  sunset,  the  marriage  is  acknow- 
ledged ; if  not,  he  must  abandon  all  claim  to  her. 

In  the  West  African  kingdom  of  Euta,1 2  after  all  other 
preliminaries  are  arranged,  c one  difficulty  yet  remains, 
viz.,  how  the  young  man  shall  get  his  wife  home  ; for  the 
women-cousins  and  relations  take  on  mightily,  and  guard 
the  door  of  the  house  to  prevent  her  being  carried  away. 
At  last,  by  the  bridegroom’s  presents  and  generosity,  their 
grief  is  assuaged.  He  then  provides  a friend,  well-mounted, 
to  carry  her  off;  but  as  soon  as  she  is  on  horseback  the 
women  renew  their  lamentations,  and  rush,  in  to  dismount 
her.  However,  the  man  is  generally  successful,  and  rides 
off  with  his  prize  to  the  house  prepared  for  her.’ 

Gray  mentions  that  a Mandingo  (West  Africa)  wishing 
to  marry  a young  girl  at  Kayaye,  applied  to  her  mother, 
who  c consented  to  his  obtaining  her.  in  any  way  he  could. 
Accordingly,  when  the  poor  girl  was  employed  preparing 
some  rice  for  supper,  she  was  seized  by  her  intended 
husband,  assisted  by  three  or  four  of  his  companions, 
and  carried  off  by  force.  She  made  much  resistance,  by 
biting,  scratching,  kicking,  and  roaring  most  bitterly. 
Many,  both  men  and  women,  some  of  them  her  own  rela- 
tions, who  witnessed  ‘the  affair,  only  laughed  at  the  farce, 
and  consoled  her  by  saying  that  she  would  soon  be  recon- 
ciled to  her  situation.’  Evidently  therefore  this  was  not, 
as  G*ay  seems  to  have  supposed,  a mere  act  of  lawless 
violence,  but  a recognised  custom,  which  called  for  no 
interference  on  the  part  of  spectators. 

Denham,3  describing  a marriage  at  Sockna  (North 

1 Astley's  Collection  of  Voyages,  p.  56. 

Vol.  ii.  p.  240.  3 Loo.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  39. 

2 Gray’s  Travels  in  Western  Africa, 


IN  CIRCASSIA,  AND  IN  EUROPE. 


83 


Africa),  says  that  the  bride  is  taken  on  a camel  to  the 
bridegroom’s  house,  ‘ upon  which  it  is  necessary  for  her  to 
appear  greatly  surprised,  and  refuse  to  dismount;  the 
women  scream,  the  men  shout,  and  she  is  at  length  per- 
suaded to  enter.’ 

In  Circassia  weddings  are  accompanied  by  a feast,  ‘ in 
the  midst  of  which  the  bridegroom  has  to  rush  in,  and, 
with  the  help  of  a few  daring  young  men,  carry  off  the 
lady  by  force  ; and  by  this  process  she  becomes  the  lawful 
wife.’ 1 According  to  Spencer,  another  important  part  of 
the  ceremony  consists  in  the  bridegroom  drawing  his 
dagger  and  cutting  open  the  bride’s  corset. 

As  regards  Europe,  Plutarch2  tells  us  that  in  Sparta 
the  bridegroom  usually  carried  off  his  bride  by  force, 
evidently,  however,  of  a friendly  character.  The  Ro- 
mans, also,  had  a very  similar  custom.  In  North  Fries- 
land, 6 a young  fellow  called  the  bride-lifter  lifts  the  bride 
and  her  two  bridesmaids  upon  the  waggon  in  which  the 
married  couple  are  to  travel  to  their  home.’ 3 McLennan 
states  that  in  some  parts  of  France,  down  to  the  seventeenth 
century,  it  was  customary  for  the  bride  to  feign  reluctance 
to  enter  the  bridegroom’s  house. 

In  Poland,  Lithuania,  Russia,  and  parts  of  Prussia, 
according  to  Seignior  Gaya,4  young  men  used  to  carry  off 
their  sweethearts  by  force,  and  then  apply  to  the  parents 
for  their  consent. 

Lord  Karnes,5  in  his  * Sketches  of  the  History  of  Man,’ 
mentions  that  the  following  marriage  ceremony  was,  in 
his  day,  or  at  least  had  till  shortly  before,  been  customary 
among  the  Welsh  : — ‘ On  the  morning  of  the  wedding-day 
the  bridegroom,  accompanied  with  his  friends  on  horse- 

1 Moser,  The  Caucasus  and  its  3 M‘Lennan,  loc.  cit.  p.  33. 

People,  p.  31 ; quoted  by  M‘Lennan,  4 Marriage  Ceremonies,  p.  35,  See 
loc . cit.  p.  36.  also  Olaus  Magnus,  vol.  xiv.  chapter  9 

2 See  also  Herodotus,  vi.  65.  5 History  of  Man,  yol.  ii.  p.  59. 


84 


MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS. 


back,  demands  the  bride.  Her  friends,  who  are  likewise 
on  horseback,  give  a positive  refusal,  on  which  a mock 
scuffle  ensues.  The  bride,  mounted  behind  her  nearest 
kinsman,  is  carried  off,  and  is  pursued  by  the  bridegroom 
and  his  friends,  with  loud  shouts.  It  is  not  uncommon 
on  such  an  occasion  to  see  200  or  300  sturdy  Cambro- 
Britons  riding  at  full  speed,  crossing  and  jostling,  to  the 
no  small  amusement  of  the  spectators.  When  they  have 
fatigued  themselves  and  their  horses,  the  bridegroom  is 
suffered  to  overtake  his  bride.  He  leads  her  away  in 
triumph,  and  the  scene  is  concluded  with  feasting  and 
festivity.5 

Thus,  then,  we  see  that  marriage  by  capture,  either  as 
a stern  reality  or  as  an  important  ceremony,  prevails  in 
Australia  and  among  the  Malays,  in  Hindostan,  Central 
Asia,  Siberia,  and  Kamskatka;  among  the  Esquimaux, 
the  Northern  Eedskins,  the  Aborigines  of  Brazil,  in  Chile 
and  Tierra  del  Euego,  in  the  Pacific  Islands,  both  among 
the  Polynesians  and  the  Pijians,  in  the  Philippines,  among 
the  Arabs  and  Negroes,  in  Circassia,  and,  until  recently, 
throughout  a great  part  of  Europe. 

I have  already  referred  to  the  custom  of  lifting  the  bride 
over  the  doorstep,  which  we  find  in  such  different  and 
distant  races  as  the  Eomans,  Eedskins  of  Canada,  the 
Chinese,  and  the  Abyssinians.  Hence,  also,  perhaps  our 
honeymoon,  during  which  the  bridegroom  keeps  his  bride 
away  from  her  relatives  and  friends ; hence  even,  perhaps, 
as  Mr.  McLennan  supposes,  the  slipper  is  in  mock  anger 
thrown  after  the  departing  bride  and  bridegroom. 

The  curious  custom  which  forbids  the  father  and 
mother-in-law  to  speak  to  their  son-in-law,  and  vice  versa , 
which  I have  already  shown  (p.  7)  to  be  very  widely 
distributed,  but  for  which  no  satisfactory  explanation  has 
yet  been  given,  seems  to  me  a natural  consequence  of 


MARRIAGE  BY  CONFARREATIO. 


85 


marriage  by  capture.  When  the  capture  was  a reality, 
the  indignation  of  the  parents  would  also  be  real ; when 
it  became  a mere  symbol,  the  parental  anger  would  be 
symbolised  also,  and  would  be  continued  even  after  its 
origin  was  forgotten. 

The  separation  of  husband  and  wife,  to  which  also  I 
have  referred  (p.  56),  may  also  arise  from  the  same  custom. 
It  is  very  remarkable  indeed,  how  persistent  are  all 
customs  and  ceremonies  connected  with  marriage.  Thus 
our  ‘ bride  cake/  which  so  invariably  accompanies  a 
wedding,  and  which  should  always  be  cut  by  the  bride , may 
be  traced  back  to  the  old  Roman  form  of  marriage  by 
* confarreatio  5 or  eating  together.  So  also  among  the  Iro- 
quois, bride  and  bridegroom  used  to  partake  together  of  a 
cake  of  ‘ sagamite,’ 1 which  the  bride  offered  to  her  hus- 
band. The  Fiji  Islanders 2 have  a very  similar  custom. 
Again  among  the  Tipperahs,  one  of  the  Hill  tribes  of 
Chittagong,  the  bride  prepares  some  drink,  6 sits  on  her 
lover’s  knee,  drinks  half,  and  gives  him  the  other  half ; they 
afterwards  crook  together  their  little  fingers.’3  In  one 
form  or  another  a similar  custom  is  found  among  most  of 
the  Hill  tribes  of  India. 

Mr.  M‘Lennan  conceives  that  marriage  by  capture  arose 
from  the  custom  of  exogamy,  that  is  to  say,  from  the 
custom  which  forbad  marriage  within  the  tribe.  Exo- 
gamy, again,  he  considers  to  have  arisen  from  the  practice 
of  female  infanticide.  I have  already  indicated  the 
reasons  which  prevent  me  from  accepting  this  explanation, 
and  which  induce  me  to  regard  exogamy  as  arising  from 
marriage  by  capture,  not  marriage  by  capture  from 
exogamy.  Mr.  M‘Lennan’s  theory  seems  to  me  quite 

1 Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  566,  571.  3 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong 

2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  pp.  71,  80 

170. 


86 


EXPIATION  FOE,  l&TABEIAGE 


inconsistent  with  the  existence  of  tribes  which  have 
marriage  by  capture  and  yet  are  endogamous.  The 
Bedouins,  for  instance,  have  unmistakeably  marriage  by 
capture,  and  yet  the  man  has  a right  to  marry  his  consin, 
if  only  he  be  willing  to  give  the  price  demanded  for  her. 

Mr.  M‘Lennan,  indeed,  feels  the  difficulty  which  would 
be  presented  by  such  cases,  the  existence  of  which  he 
seems,  however,  to  doubt ; adding,  that  if  the  symbol  of 
capture  be  ever  found  in  the  marriage  ceremonies  of  an 
endogamous  tribe,  we  may  be  sure  that  it  is  a relic  of  an 
early  time  at  which  the  tribe  was  organised  on  another 
principle  than  that  of  exogamy.2 

That  marriage  by  capture  has  not  arisen  merely  from 
female  coyness  is  I think  evident,  as  already  mentioned, 
firstly,  because  it  does  not  account  for  the  resistance  of 
the  relatives,  and  secondly,  because  the  very  question  to 
be  solved  is  why  it  has  become  so  generally  the  custom  to 
win  the  wife  by  force  rather  than  by  persuasion. 

The  explanation  which  I have  suggested  derives  addi- 
tional probability  from,  the  evidence  of  a general  feeling 
that  marriage  was  an  act  for  which  some  compensation 
was  due  to  those  whose  rights  were  invaded. 

The  nature  of  the  ceremonies  by  which  this  was  effected 
makes  me  reluctant  to  enter  into  this  part  of  the  subject 
at  length ; and  I will  here  therefore  merely  indicate  in 
general  terms  the  character  of  the  evidence. 

I will  firstly  refer  to  certain  details  'given  by  Dulaure  3 
in  his  chapter  on  the  worship  of  Yenus,  of  which  he 
regards  these  customs  merely  as  one  illustration,  although 
they  have,  I cannot  but  think,  a signification  deeper  than, 
and  different  from,  that  which  he  attributes  to  them. 

We  must  remember  that  the  better  known  savage  races 

1 See  Klemm,  Allg.  Culturg.  d.  2 Loc . cit.  p.  53. 

Menschen,  vol.  iv.  p.  146.  3 Hist.  Abregee  des  diff.  Cultes. 


IN  BABYLONIA,  ARMENIA,  ^ETHIOPIA,  GREECE.  87 


nave,  in  most  cases,  now  arrived  at  the  stage  in  which 
paternal  rights  are  recognised,  and  hence  that  fathers 
can  and  do  sell  their  daughters  into  matrimony.  The 
price  of  a wife  is  of  course  regulated  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  tribe,  and  every,  or  nearly  every,  industrious  young 
man  is  enabled  to  buy  one  for  himself.  As  long,  however, 
as  communal  marriage  rights  were  in  force  this  would  be 
almost  impossible.  That-  special  marriage  was  an  in- 
fringement of  these  communal  rights,  for  which  some 
compensation  was  due,  seems  to  me  the  true  explanation 
of  the  offerings  which  virgins  were  so  generally  compelled 
to  make  before  being  permitted  to  marry. 

In  many  cases  the  exclusive  possession  of  a wife  could 
only  be  legally  acquired  by  a temporary  recognition  of 
the  preexisting  communal  rights.  Thus,  in  Babylonia, 
according  to  Herodotus,1  every  woman  was  compelled  to 
offer  herself  once  in  the  temple  of  Yenus,  and  only  after 
doing  so  was  she  considered  free  to  marry.  The  same 
was,  according  to  Strabo,  the  law  in  Armenia.2  In 
some  parts  of  Cyprus  also,  among  the  Nasamones,3  and 
other  ^Ethiopian  tribes,  he  tells  us  there  was  a very 
similar  custom,  and  Dulaure  asserts  that  it  existed  also 
at  Carthage,  and  in  several  parts  of  Greece.  The  account 
which  Herodotus  gives  of  the  Lydians,  though  not  so 
clear,  seems  to  indicate  a similar  law. 

The  customs  of  the  Thracians,  as  described  by  Hero- 
dotus,4 point  to  a similar  feeling.  Among  races  somewhat 
more  advanced,  the  symbol  supersedes  the  reality  of  this 
detestable  custom,  and  St.  Augustine  found  it  necessary 
to  protest  against  that  which  prevailed,  even  at  his  time, 
in  Italy.5 

Diodorus  Siculus  mentions  that  in  the  Balearic  Islands, 

1 Clio,  199.  4 Terpsichore,  y.  6. 

2 Strabo,  lib.  2.  3 Dulaure,  loc.  cit.  yol.  i.  p.  160, 

# Melpomene,  172. 


88  HINDOSTAN,  NORTH  AMERICA,  GREENLAND. 

Majorca,  Minorca,  and  Ivica,  the  bride  was  for  one  niglit 
considered  as  the  common  property  of  all  the  guests 
present;  after  which  she  belonged  exclusively  to  her 
husband. 

In  India,  according  to  Grosse,1  and  particularly  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Ganges,  virgins  were  compelled  before 
marriage  to  present  themselves  in  the  temples  dedicated 
to  Juggernaut,  and  the  same  is  said  to  have  been  custom- 
ary in  Pondicherry  and  at  Goa.2 

Among  the  Sonthals,  one  of  the  aboriginal  Indian 
tribes,  the  marriages  take  place  once  a year,  mostly  in 
January.  6 For  six  days  all  the  candidates  for  matrimony 
live  together  in  promiscuous  concubinage ; 5 after  which 
only  are  the  separate  couples  regarded  as  having  estab- 
lished their  right  to  marry.3 

Carver  mentions 4 that  while  among  the  Naudowessies, 
he  observed  that  they  paid  uncommon  respect  to  one  of 
their  women,  and  found  that  she  was  entitled  to  it  on 
account  of  a transaction  that,  in  Europe,  would  have  ren- 
dered her  infamous.5  She  invited  forty  of  the  principal 
warriors  to  her  tent,  provided  them  with  a feast,  and 
treated  them  in  every  respect  as  husbands.  On  enquiry 
he  was  informed  that  this  was  an  old  custom,  but  had 
fallen  into  abeyance,  and  ‘ scarcely  once  in  an  age  any  of 
the  females  are  hardy  enough  to  make  this  feast,  notwith- 
standing a husband  of  the  first  rank  awaits  as  a sure 
reward  the  successful  giver  of  it.5 

Speaking  of  the  Greenland  Esquimaux,  Egede  expressly 
states  that  ‘ those  are  reputed  the  best  and  noblest  tem- 
pered who,  without  any  pain  or  reluctancy,  will  lend  their 
friends  their  wives.5  5 

1 Histoire  Abregee  des  Cultes,  vol.  i.  Watson  and  J.  W.  Kaye,  vol.  i.  p.  2. 

p.  431.  4 Travels  in  North  America,  p.  245. 

2 Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  108.  5 History  of  Greenland,  p.  142. 

8 The  People  of  India,  by  J.  F. 


CUSTOM  OF  SUPPLYING  GUESTS  WITH  TEMPORARY  WIVES.  89 

The  same  feeling,  probably,  gave  rise  to  the  curious 
custom  existing,  according  to  Strabo,1  among. the  (Par- 
thian) Tapyrians,  that  when  a man  had  had  two  or  three 
children  by  one  wife,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  her,  so  that 
she  might  marry  some  one  else.  There  is  some  reason  to 
suppose  that  a similar  custom  once  prevailed  among  the 
Homans ; thus  Cato,  who  was  proverbially  austere  in  his 
morals,  did  not  think  it  right  permanently  to  retain  his 
wife  Martia,  whom  his  friend  Hortensius  wished  to  marry. 
This  he  accordingly  permitted,  and  Martia  lived  with 
Hortensius  until  his  death,  when  she  returned  to  her  first 
husband.  The  high  character  of  Cato  is  sufficient  proof 
that  he  would  not  have  permitted  this,  if  he  had  regarded 
it  as  wrong ; and  Plutarch  expressly  states  that  the 
custom  of  lending  wives  existed  among  the  Eomans. 
Akin  to  this  feeling  is  that  which  induces  so  many  savage 
tribes 2 to  provide  their  guests  with  temporary  wives. 
To  omit  this  would  be  regarded  as  quite  inhospitable. 
The  practice,  moreover,  seems  to  recognise  the  existence 
of  a right  inherent  in  every  member  of  the  community, 
and  to  visitors  as  temporary  members  ; which,  in  the  case 
of  the  latter,  could  not  be  abrogated  by  arrangements 
made  before  their  arrival,  and,  consequently,  without  their 
concurrence.  The  prevalence  of  this  custom  brings  home 
to  us  forcibly  the  difference  existing  between  the  savage 
and  the  civilised  modes  of  regarding  the  relation  of  the 
sexes  to  one  another. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  case  of  all  is  that  afforded  by 
some  of  the  Brazilian  tribes.  The  .captives  taken  by  them 
in  war  used  to  be  kept  for  some  time  and  fatted  up ; after 
which  they  were  killed  and  eaten.  Yet  even  here,  during 

1 Strabo,  ii.  515,  520.  sians,  Eastern  and  Western  Negroes, 

2 For  instance,  the  Esquimaux,  North  Arabs,  Abyssinians,  Caffirs,  Mongols, 
and  South  American  Indians,  Polyne-  Tutski,  &c. 


90 


RESPECT  FOR  COURTESANS. 


the  time  that  they  had  to  live,  the  poor  wretches  were 
always  provided  with  a temporary  wife.1 

This  view  also  throws  some  light  on  the  remarkable 
subordination  of  the  wife  to  the  husband,  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  marriage,  and  so  curiously  inconsistent 
with  all  our  avowed  ideas ; nay,  it  also  tends  to  explain 
those  curious  cases  in  which  Hetairse  were  held  in  greater 
estimation  than  those  women  who  were,  as  we  should  con- 
sider properly  and  respectably,  married  to  a single  hus- 
band.1 The  former  were  originally  fellow-countrywomen 
and  relations ; the  latter  captives  and  slaves.  And  even 
when  this  ceased  to  be  the  case,  the  idea  would  long 
survive  the  circumstances  which  gave  rise  to  it. 

We  know  that  in  Athens  courtesans  were  highly  re- 
spected. 6 The  daily  conversations  they  listened  to/  says 
Lord  Karnes,3  € on  philosophy,  politics,  poetry,  enlightened 
their  understanding  and  improved  their  taste.  Their 
houses  became  agreeable  schools,  where  everyone  might 
be  instructed  in  his  owrn  art.  Socrates  and  Pericles  met 
frequently  at  the  house  of  Aspasia,  for  from  her  they  ac- 
quired delicacy  of  taste,  and,  in  return,  procured  to  her 
public  respect  and  reputation.  Greece  at  that  time  was 
governed  by  orators,  over  whom  some  celebrated  courte- 
sans had  great  influence,  and  by  that  means  entered  deep 
into  the  government/ 

So  also  it  was  an  essential  of  the  model  Platonic  Eepub- 
lic  that, c among  the  guardians,  at  least,  the  sexual  arrange- 
ments should  be  under  public  regulation,  and  the  monopoly 
of  one  woman  by  one  man  forbidden/ 4 

In  the  famous  Indian  city  of  Yesali  c marriage  was  for- 
bidden, and  high  rank  attached  to  the  lady  who  held  office 

1 Lafitau,  Mceurs  des  Sauv.  Amer.  Africa,  vol.  i.  p.  198. 

rol.  li.  p.  294.  3 History  of  Man,  vol.  ii.  p.  5C. 

2 Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht,  p.  4 Bain’s  Mental  and  Moral  Science 
xix.  p.  125.  Burton’s  Lake  Regions  of 


RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER  OF  COURTESANS. 


91 


as  Chief  of  the  Courtesans.’  When  the  Holy  Buddha  (Sak- 
yamuni),  in  his  old  age,  visited  Yesali,  c he  was  lodged 
in  a garden  belonging  to  the  chief  of  the  courtesans,  and 
received  a visit  from  this  grand  lady,  who  drove  out  to 
see  him,  attended  by  her  suite  in  stately  carriages. 
Having  approached  and  bowed  down,  she  took  her  seat 
on  one  side  of  him  and  listened  to  a discourse  on  Dharma, 
....  On  entering  the  town  she  met  the  rulers  of  Yesali, 
gorgeously  apparelled ; but  their  equipages  made  way  for 
her.  They  asked  her  to  resign  to  them  the  honour  of 
entertaining  Sakyamuni ; but  she  refused,  and  the  great 
man  himself,  when  solicited  by  the  rulers  in  person,  also 
refused  to  break  his  engagement  with  the  lady.’ 1 

Until  recently  the  courtesans  were  the  only  educated 
women  in  India.2  Even  now  many  of  the  great  Hindoo 
temples  have  bands  of  courtesans  attached  to  them,  who 
c follow  their  trade  without  public  shame.  It  is  a strange 
anomaly  that,  while  a courtesan,  born  of,  or  adopted 
into,  a courtesan  family,  is  not  held  to  pursue  a shame- 
less vocation,  other  women  who  have  fallen  from  good 
repute  are  esteemed  disgraceful.’ 3 There  is  in  reality, 
however,  nothing  anomalous  in  this.  The  former  con- 
tinue the  old  custom  of  the  country,  under  solemn  reli- 
gious sanction ; the  latter,  on  the  contrary,  have  given 
way  to  lawless  inclinations,  have  outraged  public  feel- 
ings, have  probably  broken  their  marriage  vows,  and 
brought  disgrace  on  their  families.  In  Ancient  Egypt, 
again,  it  would  appear  that  illegitimate  children  were 
under  certain  circumstances  preferred  over  those  born  in 
wedlock.4 

When  the  special  wife  was  a stranger  and  a slave,  while 

1 Mrs.  Spier’s  Life  in  Ancient  India,  3 The  People  of  India,  by  J.  P. 

p.  281.  Watson  and  JW.  Kaye,  vol.  iii.  p.  165. 

2 Dubois’  People  of  India,  pp.  217,  4 Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht,  p* 

402.  125. 


92 


EXOGAMY. 


the  communal  wife  was  a relative  and  a freewoman,  such 
feelings  would  naturally  arise,  and  would,  in  some  cases, 
long  survive  the  social  condition  to  which  they  owed  their 
origin. 

I now  pass  to  the  curious  custom,  for  which  McLennan 
has  proposed  the  convenient  term  ‘ exogamy 5 — that, 
namely,  of  necessarily  marrying  out  of  the  tribe.  Tylor, 
who  called  particular  attention  to  this  custom  in  his 
interesting  work  on  ‘ The  Early  History  of  Man,5  which 
was  published  in  the  very  same  year  as  M‘Lennan’s 
6 Primitive  Marriage,5  thought  that  ‘ the  evils  of  marrying 
near  relatives  might  be  the  main  ground  of  this  series  of 
restrictions.5  Morgan  also  considers  exogamy  as  4 ex- 
plainable, and  only  explainable,  as  a reformatory  move- 
ment to  break  up  the  intermarriage  of  blood  relations/ 
and  which  could  only  be  effected  by  exogamy,  because  all 
in  the  tribe  were  regarded  as  related.  In  fact,  however, 
exogamy  afforded  little  protection  against  the  marriage  of 
relatives,  and,  wherever  it  was  systematised,  it  permitted 
marriage  even  between  half  brothers  and  sisters,  either 
on  the  father’s  or  mother’s  side.  Where  an  objection  to 
the  intermarriage  of  relatives  existed,  exogamy  was  un- 
necessary; where  it  did  not  exist,  exogamy  could  not 
arise. 

McLennan  says,  ‘ I believe  this  restriction  on  marriage 
to  be  connected  with  the  practice  in  early  times  of  female 
infanticide,  which,  rendering  women  scarce,  led  at  once  to 
polyandry  within  the  tribe,  and  the  capturing  of  women 
from  without.5  1 He  has  not  alluded  to  the  natural  pre- 
ponderance of  men  over  women.  Thus,  throughout  Europe, 
the  proportion  of  boys  to  girls  is  as  106  to  100.2  Here, 
therefore,  even  without  infanticide,  we  see  that  there  is 


1 Loc . cit.  p.  138. 


2 Wait’s  Anthropology,  p.  111. 


ORIGIN  OF  EXOGAMY. 


93 


no  exact  balance  between  tbe  sexes.  In  many  savage 
races,  in  various  parts  of  tbe  world,  it  has  been  observed 
the  men  are  much  more  numerous,  but  it  is  difficult  to 
ascertain  how  far  this  is  due  to  an  original  difference,  and 
how  far  to  other  causes. 

It  is  conceivable  that  the  difference  between  endogamous 
and  exogamous  tribes  may  be  due  to  the  different  propor- 
tion of  the  sexes : those  races  tending  to  become  exogamous 
where  boys  prevail ; those,  on  the  other  hand,  endogamous 
where  the  reverse  is  the  case.1  I am  not,  however,  aware 
that  we  have  any  statistics  which  enable  us  to  determine 
this  point,  nor  do  I believe  that  it  is  the  true  explanation 
of  the  custom. 

Infanticide  is,  no  doubt,  very  prevalent  among  savages. 
As  long,  indeed,  as  men  were  few  in  number,  enemies 
were  scarce  and  game  was  tame.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, there  was  no  temptation  to  infanticide.  There 
were  some  things  which  women  could  do  better  than 
men,  some  occupations  which  pride  and  laziness,  or 
both,  induced  them  to  leave  to  the  women.  As  soon, 
however,  as  in  any  country  population  became  even 
slightly  more  dense,  neighbours  became  a nuisance.  They 
invaded  the  hunting  grounds,  and  disturbed  the  game. 
Hence,  if  for  no  other  reason,  wars  would  arise.  Once 
begun,  they  would  continually  break  out  again  and  again, 
under  one  pretence  or  another.  Men  for  slaves,  women 
for  wives,  and  the  thirst  for  glory,  made  a weak  tribe 
always  a temptation  to  a strong  one.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, female  children  became  a source  of  weakness 
in  several  ways.  They  ate,  and  did  not  hunt.  They 
weakened  their  mothers  when  young,  and,  when  grown- 
up, were  a temptation  to  surrounding  tribes.  Hence  female 
infanticide  is  very  prevalent,  and  easily  accounted  for, 

1 See  Das  Mutterrecht,  p.  109. 


94  GRADUAL  DEVELOPMENT  OP  INDIVIDUAL  MARRIAGE. 

Yet  I cannot  regard  it  as  the  true  cause  of  exogamy. 
On  the"  other  hand,  we  must  remember  that  under  the 
communal  system  the  women  of  the  tribe  were  all  com- 
mon property.  No  one  could  appropriate  one  of  them  to 
himself,  without  infringing  on  the  general  rights  of  the 
tribe.  Women  taken  in  war  were,  on  the  contrary,  in  a 
different  position.  The  tribe,  as  a tribe,  had  no  right  to 
them,  and  men  surely  would  reserve  to  themselves  ex- 
clusively their  own  prizes.  These  captives  then  would 
naturally  become  the  wives  in  our  sense  of  the  term. 

Several  causes  would  tend  to  increase  the  importance  of 
the  separate,  and  decrease  that  of  communal  marriage. 
The  impulse  which  it  would  give  to,  and  receive  back 
from,  the  development  of  the  affections ; the  convenience 
with  reference  to  domestic  arrangements,  the  natural 
wishes  of  the  wife  herself,  and  last,  not  least,  the  inferior 
energy  of  the  children  sprung  from  ‘ in  and  in 9 marriages, 
would  all  tend  to  increase  the  importance  of  individual 
marriage. 

Even  were  there  no  other  cause,  the  advantage  of  cross- 
ing, so  well  known  to  breeders  of  stock,  would  soon  give  a 
marked  preponderance  to  those  races  by  whom  exogamy 
was  largely  practised,  and  hence  we  need  not  be  surprised 
to  find  exogamy  very  prevalent  among  the  lower  races 
of  man. 

When  this  state  of  things  had  gone  on  for  some  time, 
usage,  as  McLennan  well  observes,  would  ‘ establish  a 
prejudice  among  the  tribes  observing  it  — a prejudice 
strong  as  a principle  of  religion,  as  every  prejudice 
relating  to  marriage  is  apt  to  be — against  marrying 
women  of  their  own  stock/  1 

We  should  not,  perhaps,  have  a priori  expected  to 
find  among  savages  any  such  remarkable  restriction,  yet 


1 Loc.  cit . p.  140. 


RESTRICTIONS  ON  MARRIAGE  AMONG  SAVAGES.  95 

it  is  very  widely  distributed  ; and  from  this  point  of  view 
we  can,  I think,  clearly  see  how  it  arose. 

In  Australia,  where  the  same  family  names  are  common 
almost  over  the  whole  continent,  no  man  may  marry  a 
woman  whose  family  name  is  the  same  as  his  own,  and 
who  belongs  therefore  to  the  same  tribe.1 2  ‘No  man,5 
says  Mr.  Lang,  ‘ can  marry  a woman  of  the  same  clan, 
though  the  parties  be  no  way  related  according  to  our 
ideas.5  2 

In  Eastern  Africa,  Burton  3 says  that  ‘ some  clans  of  the 
Somal  will  not  marry  one  of  the  same,  or  even  of  a 
consanguineous  family ; 5 and  the  Bakalari  have  the  same 
rule. 4 

Du  Chaillu,5  speaking  of  Western  Equatorial  Africa, 
says,  ‘the  law  of  marriages  among  the  tribes  I have 
visited  is  peculiar ; each  tribe  is  divided  into  clans ; the 
children  in  most  of  the  tribes  belong  to  the  clan  of 
the  mother,  and  these  cannot  by  any  possible  laws  marry 
among  themselves,  however  removed  in  degree  they  may 
have  been  connected : it  is  considered  an  abomination 
among  them.  But  there  exists  no  objection  to  possessing 
a father’s  or  brother’s  wife.  I could  not  but  be  struck 
with  the  healthful  influence  of  such  regulations  against 
blood  marriages  among  them.5 

In  India  the  Warali  tribes  are  divided  into  sections, 
and  no  man  may  marry  a woman  belonging  to  his  own 
section.  In  the  Magar  tribes  these  sections  are  called 
Thums,  and  the  same  rule  prevails.  Col.  Dalton  tells  us 
that  ‘ the  Hos,  Moondahs,  and  Oraons  are  divided  into 
clans  or  keelis,  and  may  not  take  to  wife  a girl  of  the 

1 Eyre’s  Discoveries  in  Australia,  4 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N,  S.  vol.  i.  p. 

vol.  ii.  p.  329.  Grey’s  Journal,  p.  242.  321. 

2 The  Aborigines  of  Australia,  p.  10.  5 Ibid . p.  307. 

3 Eirst  Footsteps,  p.  120. 


96 


EXOGAMY  IN  HINDOSTAN. 


same  keeli.5  Again  the  Garrows  are  divided  into  *Ma- 
liaris,5  and  a man  may  not  marry  a girl  of  his  own 
c Mahari.5 

The  Munnieporees  and  other  tribes  inhabiting  the 
hills  round  Mnnniepore — the  Koupooees,  Mows,  Murams, 
and  Murrings — as  McLennan  points  out  on  the  authority 
of  McCulloch, ‘ are  each  and  all  divided  into  four  families : 
Koomrul,  Looang,  Angom,  and  Ningthaja.  A member 
of  any  of  these  families  may  marry  a member  of  any 
other,  but  the  intermarriage  of  members  of  the  same 
family  is  strictly  prohibited.5  The  Todas,  says  Metz,1 2 
c are  divided  into  five  distinct  classes,  known  by  the 
names  Peiky,  Pekkan,  Kuttan,  Kennae,  and  Tody;  of 
which  the  first  is  regarded  as  the  most  aristocratic. 
These  classes  do  not  even  intermarry  with  each  other, 
and  can  therefore  never  lose  their  distinctive  characteris- 
tics.5 

The  Khonds,  says  General  Campbell,  regard  it  as  de- 
grading to  bestow  their  daughters  in  marriage  on  men 
of  their  own  tribe ; and  consider  it  more  manly  to  seek 
their  wives  in  a distant  country.53  Major  McPherson 
also  tells  us  that  they  consider  marriage  between  people 
of  the  same  tribe  as  wicked,  and  punishable  with  death. 
The  Kalmucks,  according  to  De  Hell,  are  divided  into 
hordes,  and  no  man  can  marry  a woman  of  the  same 
horde.  The  bride,  says  Bergman,  is  always  chosen  from 
another  stock ; c among  the  Dubets,  for  instance,  from  the 
Torgot  stock,  and  among  the  Torgots  from  the  Dubet 
stock.5 

The  same  custom  prevails  among  the  Circassians  and 
the  Samoyeds.4  The  Ostiaks  regard  it  as  a crime  to 

1 Account  of  the  Valley  of  Munnie-  3 M‘Lennan,  p.  95. 

pore,  1859,  pp.  49-89.  4 Pallas,  vol.  iy.  p.  96. 

2 Tribes  of  theNeilgherry Hills,  p.21. 


EXOGAMY  IN  SIBERIA  AND  NORTH  AMERICA.  97 

marry  a woman  of  the  same  family  or  even  of  the  same 
name.1 

When  a Jakut  (Siberia)  wishes  to  marry,  he  must, 
says  Middendorf,2 *  choose  a girl  from  another  clan.  No 
one  is  permitted  to  marry  a woman  from  his  own  clan. 
In  China,  says  Davis,3  6 marriage  between  all  persons  of 
the  same  surname  being  unlawful,  this  rule  must  of  course 
include  all  descendants  of  the  male  branch  for  ever ; and 

as,  in  so  vast  a population,  there  are  not  a great  many 
more  than  one  hundred  surnames  throughout  the  empire, 
the  embarrassments  that  arise  from  so  strict  a law  must 
be  considerable/ 

Amongst  the  Tinne  Indians  of  North-west  America, 
‘ a Chit-sangh  cannot,  by  their  rules,4  marry  a Chit-sangh, 
although  the  rule  is  set  at  naught  occasionally ; but  when 
it  does  take  place  the  persons  are  ridiculed  and  laughed 

at.  The  man  is  said  to  have  married  his  sister,  even 
though  she  may  be  from  another  tribe,  and  there  be  not 
the  slightest  connection  by  blood  between  them.  The 
same  way  with  the  other  two  divisions.  The  children  are 
of  the  same  colour  as  their  mother.  They  receive  caste 
from  their  mother ; if  a male  Chit-sangh  marry  a Nah- 
tsingh  woman,  the  children  are  Nah-tsingh,  and  if  a male 
Nah-tsingh  marry  a Chit-sangh  woman,  the  children  are 
Chit-sangh,  so  that  the  divisions  are  always  changing.  As 
the  fathers  die  out  the  country  inhabited  by  the  Chit-sangh 
becomes  occupied  by  the  Nah-tsingh,  and  so  vice  versa . 
They  are  continually  changing  countries,  as  it  were/ 

Among  the  Kenaiyers  (N.  W.  America),  4 it  was  the 
custom  that  the  men  of  one  stock  should  choose  their 
wives  from  another,  and  the  offspring  belonged  to  the 

1 Pallas,  yoI.  iv.  p.  69.  4 Notes  on  the  Tinneh.  Hardisty, 

2 Sibirische  Reise,  p.  72.  Smithsonian  Report,  1866,  p.  315. 

* The  Chinese,  vol.  i.  p.  282. 


98 


EXOGAMY  IN  NORTH  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


race  of  tlie  mother.  This  custom  has  fallen  into  disuse, 
and  marriages  in  the  same  tribe  occur ; but  the  old  people 
say  that  mortality  among  the  Kenaiyer  has  arisen  from 
the  neglect  of  the  ancient  usage.  A man’s  nearest  heirs 
in  this  tribe  are  his  sister’s  children.’ 1 The  Tsimsheean 
Indians  of  British  Columbia 2 are  similarly  divided  into 
tribes,  and  totems  or  c crests,  which  are  common  to  all  the 
tribes.  The  crests  are  the  whale,  the  porpoise,  the  eagle, 
the  coon,  the  wolf,  and  the  frog.  In  connection  with 
these  crests,  several  very  important  points  of  Indian 
character  and  law  are  seen.  The  relationship  existing 
between  persons  of  the  same  crest  is  nearer  than  that 
between  members  of  the  same  tribe,  which  is  seen  in  this 
that  members  of  the  same  tribe  may  marry,  but  those  of 
the  same  crest  are  not  allowed  to  do  so  under  any  circum- 
stances ; that  is,  a whale  may  not  marry  a whale,  but  a 
whale  may  marry  a frog,  &c.’ 

Indeed,  as  regards  the  Northern  Redskins  generally,  it 
is  stated3  in  the  Archseologia  Americana  that  c every 
nation  was  divided  into  a number  of  clans,  varying  in  the 
several  nations  from  three  to  eight  or  ten,  the  members  of 
which  respectively  were  dispersed  indiscriminately  through- 
out the  whole  nation.  It  has  been  fully  ascertained  that 
the  inviolable  regulations  by  which  these  clans  were  per- 
petuated amongst  the  southern  nations  were,  first,  that  no 
man  could  marry  in  his  own  clan ; secondly,  that  every 
child  should  belong  to  his  or  her  mother’s  clan.’ 

The  Indians  of  Guiana  4 e are  divided  into  families,  each 
of  which  has  a distinct  name,  as  the  Siwidi , Karuafudi , 
Onisidi , &c.  Unlike  our  families,  these  all  descend  in  the 
female  line,  and  no  individual  of  either  sex  is  allowed  to 

1 Richardson’s  Boat  Journey,  vol.  i.  3 M‘Lennan,  p.  121.  Lafitau,  vol.  i. 
p.  406.  See  also  Smithsonian  Report,  p.  558.  Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  313. 
1866,  p.  326.  4 Brett’s  Indian  Tribes  of  Guiana, 

2 Metlahkatlah,  published  by  the  p.  98. 

Church  Missionary  Soc.  1869,  p.  6. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  POLYGAMY. 


99 


marry  another  of  the  same  family  name.  Thus,  a woman 
of  the  Siwidi  family  bears  the  same  name  as  her  mother, 
but  neither  her  father  nor  her  husband  can  be  of  that 
family.  Her  children  and  the  children  of  her  daughters 
will  also  be  called  Siwidi,  but  both  her  sons  and  daughters 
are  prohibited  from  an  alliance  with  any  individual  bear- 
ing the  same  name;  though  they  may  marry  into  the 
family  of  their  father,  if  they  choose.  These  customs  are 
strictly  observed,  and  any  breach  of  them  would  be  con- 
sidered as  wicked.5 

Lastly,  the  Brazilian  races,  according  to  Martius,  differ 
greatly  in  their  marriage  regulations.  In  some  of  the  very 
scattered  tribes,  who  live  in  small  families  far  remote  from 
one  another,  the  nearest  relatives  often  intermarry.  In  more 
populous  districts,  on  the  contrary,  the  tribes  are  divided 
into  families,  and  a strict  system  of  exogamy  prevails.1 

Thus,  then,  we  see  that  this  remarkable  custom  of 
exogamy  prevails  throughout  Western  and  Eastern  Africa, 
in  Circassia,  Hindostan,  Tartary,  Siberia,  China,  and 
Australia,  as  well  as  in  North  and  South  America. 

The  relations  existing  between  husband  and  wife  in  the 
lower  races  of  Man,  as  indicated  in  the  preceding  pages, 
are  sufficient  to  remove  all  surprise  at  the  prevalence  of 
polygamy.  There  are,  however,  other  causes,  not  less 
powerful,  though  perhaps  less  prominent,  to  which  much 
influence  must  be  ascribed.  Thus  in  all  tropical  regions 
girls  become  marriageable  very  young ; their  beauty  is 
acquired  early,  and  soon  fades,  while  men,  on  the  con- 
trary, retain  their  full  powers  much  longer.  Hence 
when  love  depends,  not  on  similarity  of  tastes  pursuits  or 
opinions,  but  entirely  on  external  attractions,  we  cannot 
wonder  that  every  man  who  is  able  to  do  so,  provides 
himself  with  a succession  of  favourites,  even  when  the  first 

1 Loc.  cit . p.  63. 


100 


POLYANDRY. 


wife  remains  not  only  nominally  tlie  head,  but  really  his 
confidant  and  adviser.  Another  cause  has  no  doubt  exer- 
cised great  influence.  Milk  is  necessary  for  children,  and 
in  the  absence  of  domestic  animals  it  consequently  follows 
that  they  are  not  weaned  until  they  are  several  years  old. 
The  effect  of  this  on  the  social  relations  has  been  already 
referred  to  (ante,  p.  55). 

Polyandry,  on  the  contrary,  is  far  less  common,  though 
more  frequent  than  is  generally  supposed.  McLennan  and 
Morgan,  indeed,  both  regard  it  as  a phase  through  which 
human  progress  has  necessarily  passed.  If,  however,  we 
define  it  as  the  condition  in  which  one  woman  is  mar- 
ried to  several  men,  but  (as  distinguished  from  communal 
marriage)  to  them  exclusively,  then  I am  rather  disposed 
to  regard  it  as  an  exceptional  phenomenon,  arising  from 
the  paucity  of  females. 

McLennan,  indeed,1  gives  a long  list  of  tribes  which 
he  regards  as  polyandrous,  namely,  those  of  Thibet,  Cash- 
meer,  and  the  Himalayan  regions,  the  Todas,  Coorgs, 
Nairs,  and  various  other  races  in  India,  in  Ceylon,  in  New 
Zealand 2 and  one  or  two  other  Pacific  islands,  in  the 
Aleutian  Archipelago,  among  the  Koryaks,  the  Saporogian 
Cossacks,  on  the  Orinoco,  in  parts  of  Africa,  and  in  Lan- 
cerota.  To  these  he  adds  the  ancient  Britons,  some  of  the 
Median  cantons,  the  Piets,  and  the  Getes,  while  traces  of 
it  occurred  among  the  ancient  Germans.  To  these  I may 
add  that  of  some  families  among  the  Iroquois.  On  the 
other  hand,  several  of  the  above  cases  are,  I think,  merely 
instances  of  communal  marriage.  Indeed,  it  is  evident 
that  where  our  information  is  incomplete,  it  must  often  be 
far  from  easy  to  distinguish  between  communal  marriage 
and  true  polyandry. 

If  we  examine  the  above  instances,  some  of  them  will, 
* Loc , cit.  p,  180.  2 Lafltau,  loc.  cit.  voL  i.  p.  555. 


POLYANDRY  EXCEPTIONAL. 


101 


I think,  prove  untenable.  The  passage  referred  to  in 
Tacitus  1 does  not  appear  to  me  to  justify  us  in  regarding 
the  Germans  as  having  been  polyandrous. 

Erman  is  correctly  referred  to  by  McLennan,  as  men- 
tioning the  existence  of  6 lawful  polyandry  in  the  Aleutian 
Islands/  He  does  not,  however,  give  his  authority  for  the 
statement.  The  account  he  gives  of  the  Koryaks  by  no 
means,  I think,  proves  that  polyandry  occurs  among  them. 
The  case  of  the  Kalmucks,  to  judge  from  the  account 
given  by  Clarke,2  is  certainly  one  in  which  brothers,  but 
brothers  only,  have  a wife  in  common. 

For  Polynesia,  McLennan  relies  on  the  Legend  of 
Bupe,  as  told  by  Sir  G.  Grey.3  Here,  however,  it  is  merely 
stated  that  two  brothers  named  Ihuatamai  and  Ihuware- 
ware,  having  found  Hinauri,  when  she  was  thrown  by  the 
surf  on  the  coast  at  Wairarawa,  ‘ looked  upon  her  with 
pleasure,  and  took  her  as  a wife  between  them  both.5  This 
seems  to  me  rather  a case  of  communal  marriage  than  of 
polyandry,  especially  when  the  rest  of  the  legend  is  borne 
in  mind.  Neither  does  the  evidence  as  regards  Africa  seem 
to  me  at  all  satisfactory.  Eeade,  in  the  passage  referred  to 
by  Mr.  M‘Lennan,  merely  says  that  ‘ the  sisters  of  the  king 
may  negotiate  with  whom  and  with  as  many  as  they  please 
for  the  contribution  of  royal  heirs ; provided  always  that 
the  man  is  strong,  good-looking,  and  of  a decent  position 
in  life : conditions  which  these  ladies  cannot,  I am  sure, 
find  very  harsh.54  This  implies  lax  morality,  but  is  not 
even  an  indication  of  regular  polyandry. 

Polyandry  is  no  doubt  very  widely  distributed  over 
India,  Thibet,  and  Ceylon.  In  the  latter  island  the  joint 
husbands  are  always  brothers.5  But,  on  the  whole,  law- 
ful polyandry  (as  opposed  to  mere  laxness  of  morality) 

1 Germ.  xx.  4 Reade’s  Savage  Africa,  p.  43. 

2 Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  241.  5 Davy’s  Ceylon,  p.  286. 

3 Polynesian  Mythology,  p.  81. 


102 


ENDOGAMY. 


seems  to  be  an  exceptional  system,  generally  intended  to 
avoid  tbe  evils  arising  from  monogamy  where  the  number 
of  women  is  less  than  that  of  men. 

Passing  on  now  to  the  custom  of  endogamy,  McLennan 
remarks  that  c the  separate  endogamous  tribes  are  nearly 
as  numerous,  and  they  are  in  some  respects  as  rude,  as 
the  separate  exogamous  tribes.5 1 

So  far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  on  the  contrary,  endogamy 
is  much  less  prevalent  than  exogamy,  and  it  seems  to  me 
to  have  arisen  from  a feeling  of  race-pride,  and  a disdain 
of  surrounding  tribes  which  were  either  really  or  hypo- 
thetically in  a lower  condition. 

Thus  pjnong  the  Ahts  of  1ST.  W.  America,  as  mentioned 
by  Sproat,  ‘ though  the  different  tribes  of  the  Aht  nation 
are  frequently  at  war  with  one  another,  women  are  not 
captured  from  other  tribes  for  marriage,  but  only  to  be  kept 
as  slaves.  The  idea  of  slavery  connected  with  capture  is 
so  common,  that  a free-born  Aht  would  hesitate  to  marry 
a woman  taken  in  war,  whatever  her  rank  had  been  in  her 
own  tribe.5  2 

Some  of  the  Indian  races,  as  the  Kocchs  and  the  Hos,  are 
forbidden  to  marry  excepting  within  the  tribe.  The  latter 
at  leasts  however,  are  not  truly  endogamous,  for,  as  already 
mentioned,  they  are  divided  into  ‘ keelis,5  or  clans,  and 
‘ may  not  take  to  wife  a girl  of  their  own  keeli.5  3 Thus 
they  are  in  fact  exogamous,  and  it  is  possible  that  some 
of  the  other  cases  of  endogamy  might,  if  we  were  better 
acquainted  with  them,  present  the  same  duplex  pheno- 
menon. 

Among  the  Yerkalas 4 of  Southern  India  c a custom  pre- 
vails by  which  the  first  two  daughters  of  a family  may  be 

1 Loc.  cit . p.  145.  8 Ante,  p.  95. 

2 Sproat,  Scenes  and  Studies  of  4 Shortt.  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.  S. 

Savage  Life,  p.  98.  vol.  vii.  p.  187. 


ENDOGAMY. 


103 


claimed  by  tbe  maternal  uncle  as  wives  for  bis  sons.  Tbe 
value  of  a wife  is  fixed  at  twenty  pagodas.  The  maternal 
uncle’s  right  to  the  first  two  daughters  is  valued  at 
eight  out  of  twenty  pagodas,  and  is  carried  out  thus  : — if 
he  urges  his  preferential  claim,  and  marries  his  own  sons 
to  his  nieces,  he  pays  for  each  only  twelve  pagodas ; and, 
similarly,  if  he,  from  not  having  sons,  or  any  other  cause, 
forego  his  claim,  he  receives  eight  pagodas  of  the  twenty 
paid  to  the  girls’  parents  by  anybody  else  who  may  marry 
them.’ 

The  Doingnaks,  a branch  of  the  Chukmas,  appear  also 
to  have  been  endogamous,  and  Captain  Lewin  mentions 
that  they  6 abandoned  the  parent  stem  during  the  chief- 
ship  of  Jaunbux  Khan  about  1782.  The  reason  of  this 
split  was  a disagreement  on  the  subject  of  marriages.  The 
chief  passed  an  order  that  the  Doingnak  should  intermarry 
with  the  tribe  in  general.  This  was  contrary  to  ancient 
custom,  and  caused  discontent  and  eventually  a break 
in  the  tribe.’ 1 This  is  one  of  the  very  few  cases  where 
we  have  evidence  of  a change  in  this  respect.  The 
Kalangs  of  Java,  who  have  some  claim  to  be  regarded  as 
the  aborigines  of  the  island,  are  also  endogamous,  and 
when  a man  asks  a girl  in  marriage  he  must  prove  his 
descent  from  their  peculiar  stock.2 

The  Mantchu  Tartars  forbid  marriages  between  those 
whose  family  names  are  different.3  In  Guam  brothers 
and  sisters  used  to  intermarry,  and  it  is  even  stated  that 
such  unions  we.re  preferred  as  being  most  natural  and 
proper.4  Endogamy  would  seem  to  have  prevailed  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,5  and  in  New  Zealand,  where,  as  Yate 
mentions,  c great  opposition  is  made  to  anyone  taking, 

1 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  3 M‘Lennan,  loc.  cit.  p.  146. 

p.  65.  Arago’s  Letters.  Freycinet’s  Voy* 

2 Raffles’  History  of  Java,  vol.  i.  age,  vol.  ii.  p.  17. 

p.  328.  5 Ibid.  p.  94. 


104 


THE  MILK-TIE. 


except  for  some  political  purpose,  a wife  from  another 
tribe ; so  tliat  such  intermarriages  seldom  occur.5 1 

The  idea  of  relationship  as  existing  amongst  us,  founded 
on  marriage,  and  implying  equal  connection  of  a child  to 
its  father  and  mother,  seems  so  natural  and  obvious  that 
there  are,  perhaps,  many  to  whom  the  possibility  of  any 
other  has  not  occurred.  The  facts  already  recorded  will, 
however,  have  prepared  us  for  the  existence  of  peculiar 
ideas  as  to  relationship.  The  strength  of  the  foster- 
feeling— the  milk-tie — among  the  Scotch  Highlanders,  is 
a familiar  instance  of  a mode  of  regarding  relationship 
very  different  from  that  prevalent  amongst  us. 

We  have  also  seen  that,  under  the  custom  of  communal 
marriage,  a child  was  regarded  as  related  to  the  tribe, 
but  not  specially  to  any  particular  father  or  mother. 
It  is  evident  that  under  communal  marriage — and  little 
less  so  wherever  men  had  many  wives — the  tie  between 
father  and  son  must  have  been  very  slight.  Obviously, 
however,  there  are  causes  in  operation  which  always  tend 
to  strengthen  the  connection  between  the  parent  and  off- 
spring, and  especially  between  the  mother  and  her  child. 
Among  agricultural  tribes,  and  under  settled  forms  of 
government,  the  chiefs  often  have  very  large  harems,  and 
their  importance  even  is  measured  by  the  number  of  their 
wives,  as  in  other  cases  by  that  of  their  cows  or  horses. 

This  state  of  things  is  in  many  ways  very  prejudicial. 
It  checks,  of  course,  the  natural  affection  and  friendly 
intercourse  between  man  and  wife.  The  King  of  Ashantee, 
for  instance,  always  has  3,333  wives;  but  no  man  can  love 
so  many  women,  nor  can  so  many  women  cherish  any  per- 
sonal affection  for  one  man. 

Even  among  hunting  races,  though  men  were  unable  to 
maintain  so  many  wives,  still,  as  changes  are  of  frequent 
occurrence,  the  tie  between  a mother  and  child  is  much 


1 New  Zealand,  p.  99. 


INHERITANCE  THROUGH  females. 


105 


stronger  than  that  which  binds  a child  to  its  father. 
Hence  we  find  that  among  many  of  the  lower  races  re- 
lationship through  females  is  the  prevalent  custom,  and 
we  are  thus  able  to  understand  the  curious  practice  that 
a man’s  heirs  are  not  his  own,  but  his  sister’s  children. 

Montesquieu 1 regarded  relationship  through  females  as 
intended  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  landed  property 
in  few  hands — an  explanation  manifestly  inapplicable  to 
many,  nay  the  majority,  of  cases  in  which  the  custom  exists, 
and  the  explanation  above  suggested  is,  I have  no  doubt, 
the  correct  one. 

Thus,  when  a rich  man  dies  in  Guinea,  his  property, 
excepting  the  armour,  descended  to  the  sister’s  son, 
expressly,  according  to  Smith,  on  the  ground  that  he 
must  certainly  be  a relative.2  Battel  mentions  that 
the  town  of  Longo  (Loango)  ‘ is  governed  by  four  chiefs, 
which  are  sons  of  the  king’s  sisters ; for  the  king’s 
sons  never  come  to  be  kings.’ 3 Quatremere  mentions  that 
‘ Chez  les  Nubiens,  dit  Abou  Selah,  lorsqu’un  roi  vient  a 
mourir  et  qu’il  laisse  un  fils  et  un  neveu  du  cote  de  sa  soeur, 
celui-ci  monte  sur  le  trone  de  preference  a 1’heritier  naturel.’4 

In  Central  Africa,  Caillie 5 says  that  ‘ the  sovereignty 
remains  always  in  the  same  family,  but  the  son  never  suc- 
ceeds his  father ; they  choose  in  preference  a son  of  the 
king’s  sister,  conceiving  that  by  this  method  the  sovereign 
power  is  more  sure  to  be  transmitted  to  one  of  the  blood 
royal ; a precaution  which  shows  how  little  faith  is  put 
m the  virtue  of  the  women  of  this  country.’ 

In  Northern  Africa  we  find  the  same  custom  among  the 
Berbers  ; 6 and  Burton  mentions  it  as  existing  in  the  East. 

1 Esprit  des  Lois,  vol.  i.  p.  70.  4 Mem.  geogr.  sur  l’Egypte  et  sur 

2 Smith’s  Voyage  to  Guinea,  p.  143.  quelques  contrees  voisines.  Paris,  1811. 
See  also  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  yoI.  xy.  Quoted  in  Bachofen’s  Mutterrecht,  p. 
p.  417,  421,  528.  Astley’s  Collection  108. 

of  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  63,  256.  5 Caillie’s  TraYels,  vol.  i.  p.  .153. 

3 Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  yoI.  xvi.  p.  6 La  Mere,  ckez  certains  peuples  de 

331.  l’Antiquite,  p.  45. 


6 


106 


RELATION  SHIP  THROUGH  FEMALES. 


Even  Herodotus  1 liad  observed  a case  in  point.  ‘ The 
Lycians,’  be  says,  ‘have  one  custom  peculiar  to  them- 
selves, in  which  they  differ  from  all  other  nations;  for 
they  take  their  name  from  their  mothers,  and  not  from 
their  fathers ; so  that  if  anyone  asks  another  who  he  is, 
he  will  describe  himself  by  his  mother’s  side,  and  reckon 
up  his  maternal  ancestry  in  the  female  line.5  Polybius 
makes  the  same  statement  as  regards  the  Locrians ; and 
on  Etruscan  tombs  descent  is  stated  in  the  female  line. 
In  India  the  Kasias,  the  Kocch,  and  the  Hairs  have  the 
system  of  female  kinship.  Buchanan  2 tells  us  that  among 
the  Buntar  in  Tulava  a man’s  property  does  not  descend 
to  his  own  children,  but  to  those  of  his  sister.  Sir  W. 
Elliot  states  that  the  people  of  Malabar,  ‘ notwithstanding 
the  same  diversity  of  caste  as  in  other  provinces,  all  agree 
in  one  remarkable  usage — that  of  transmitting  property 
through  females  only.’3  He  adds,  on  the  authority  of 
Lieutenant  Conner,  that  the  same  is  the  case  in  Travan- 
core,  among  all  the  castes  except  the  Ponans  and  the 
Hamburi  Brahmans. 

As  Latham  states,  ‘ no  Hair  son  knows  his  own  father, 
and,  vice  versa , no  Hair  father  knows  his  own  son.  What 
becomes  of  the  property  of  the  husband  ? It  descends  to 
the  children  of  his  sisters.’ 4 

Among  the  Limboos  (India),  a tribe  near  Darjeeling,5  the 
boys  become  the  property  of  the  father  on  his  paying  the 
mother  a small  sum  of  money,  when  the  child  is  named, 
and  enters  his  father’s  tribe:  girls  remain  with  the 
mother,  and  belong  to  her  tribe.’ 

Marsden  tells  us,6  that  among  the  Battas  of  Sumatra, 

1 dio,  173.  5 Campbell,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.  S. 

2 Vol.  iii.  p.  16.  vol.  vii.  p.  155. 

3 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1869,  p.  119.  6 Marsden’s  History  of  Sumatra, 

4 Descriptive  Ethnology,  vol.  ii.  p.  p.  376. 

463. 


CAUSES  AND  WIDE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  CUSTOM.  107 

‘ the  succession  to  the  chiefships  does  not  go,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  the  son  of  the  deceased,  but  to  the  nephew 
by  a sister  ; and  that  the  same  extraordinary  rule,  with 
respect  to  the  property  in  general,  prevails  also  amongst 
the  Malays  of  that  part  of  the  island,  and  even  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Padang.  The  authorities  for  this  are 
various  and  unconnected  with  each  other,  but  not  suffi- 
ciently circumstantial  to  induce  me  to  admit  it  as  a gener- 
ally established  practice/ 

Among  the  Kenaiyers  of  Cook’s  Inlet,  Sir  John  Rich- 
ardson tells  us  that  a man’s  property  descends  not  to 
his  own  children,  but  to  those  of  his  sister.1  The  same 
is  the  case  with  the  Kutchin.2 

Carver 3 mentions  that  among  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Indians 
the  children  ‘ are  always  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the 
mother;  and  if  a woman  marries  several  husbands,  and 
has  issue  by  each  of  them,  they  are  all  called  after  her. 
The  reason  they  give  for  this  is,  that  as  their  offspring 
are  indebted  to  the  father  for  their  souls,  the  invisible 
part  of  their  essence,  and  to  the  mother  for  their  corporeal 
and  apparent  part,  it  is  more  rational  that  they  should  be 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  latter,  from  whom  they 
indubitably  derive  their  being,  than  by  that  of  the  father, 
to  which  a doubt  might  sometimes  arise  whether  they  are 
justly  entitled.’  A similar  rule  prevailed  in  Haiti  and 
Mexico.4 

As  regards  Polynesia,  Mariner  states  that  in  the  Friendly 
or  Tonga  Islands  ‘ nobility  descends  by  the  female  line, 
for  when  the  mother  is  not  a noble,  the  children  are  not 
nobles.’ 5 It  would  seem,  however,  from  another  passage, 
that  these  islanders  were  passing  the  stage  of  relation- 

1 Boat  Journey,  vol.  i.  p.  406.  4 Miiller,  Americanischen  Urreligio- 

2 Smithsonian  Report,  1866,  p.  326.  nen,  p.  167,  539. 

3 Carver,  p.  378.  See  also  p.  259.  5 Tonga  Islands,  vol.  ii.  pp.  89,  91. 


108 


NEGLECT  OF  THE  PATERNAL  RELATION. 


ship  through  females  to  that  through  males.  The  exist- 
ence of  inheritance  through  females  is  clearly  indicated  in 
the  Fijian  custom  known  as  Yasu. 

So  also  in  Western  Australia,  ‘children,  of  either  sex, 
always  take  the  family  name  of  their  mother/  1 

Tacitus,2  speaking  of  the  Germans,  says  c children  are 
regarded  with  equal  affection  by  their  maternal  uncles 
as  by  their  fathers  ; some  even  consider  this  as  the  more 
sacred  bond  of  consanguinity,  and  prefer  it  in  the  re- 
quisition of  hostages/  He  adds,  ‘ a person’s  own  children, 
however,  are  his  heirs  and  successors ; no  wills  are  made/ 
From  this  it  would  appear  as  if  female  inheritance  had 
been  recently  and  not  universally  abandoned. 

Among  the  ancient  Jews,  Abraham  married  his  half- 
sister,  Nahor  married  his  brother’s  daughter,  and  Amram 
his  father’s  sister ; this  was  permitted  because  they  were 
not  regarded  as  relations.  Tamar  also  evidently  might 
have  married  Amnon,  though  they  were  both  children 
of  David : ‘ Speak  unto  the  king,’  she  said,  c for  he  will 
not  withhold  me  from  thee ; ’ for,  as  their  mothers  were 
not  the  same,  they  were  no  relations  in  the  eye  of  the  law. 

Solon  also  permitted  marriage  with  sisters  on  the 
father’s  side,  but  not  on  the  mother’s. 

Here,  therefore,  we  have  abundant  evidence  of  the 
second  stage,  in  which  the  child  is  related  to  the  mother, 
and  not  to  the  father;  whence  a man’s  heir  is  his  sister’s 
child,  who  is  his  nephew, — not  his  own  child,  who  is  in 
some  cases  regarded  as  no  relation  to  him  at  all* 

When,  however,  marriage  became  more  respected,  and 
the  family  affections  stronger,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
rule  under  which  a man’s  property  went  to  his  sister’s 
children,  would  become  unpopular,  both  with  the  father, 


Eyre,  loc.  cit.  p.  330. 


2 De  Mor.  Germ.  xx. 


RELATIONSHIP  IN  THE  MALE  LINE.  109 

who  would  naturally  wish  his  children  to  inherit  his 
property,  and  equally  so  with  the  children  themselves. 

M.  Girard  Teulon,  indeed,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
a very  interesting  memoir  on  this  subject,1  regards  the  first 
recognition  of  his  parental  relationship  as  an  act  of  noble 
self-devotion  on  the  part  of  some  great  genius  in  ancient 
times. 

4 Le  premier,5  he  says,  ‘ qui  consentit  a se  reconnaitre 
pere  fut  un  homme  de  genie  et  de  coeur,  un  des  grands 
bienfaiteurs  de  l’humanite.  Prouve  en  effet  que  l’enfant 
t’appartient.  Es-tu  sur  qu’il  est  un  autre  toi-meme,  ton 
fruit  ? que  tu  1’as  enfante  ? ou  bien,  a 1’aide  d’une  gene- 
reuse  et  volontaire  credulite,  marches-tu,  noble  inven- 
teur,  & la  conquete  d5un  but  superieur  ? 5 2 

Bachofen  also,  while  characterising  the  change  from 
male  to  female  relationship  as  the  6 wichtigsten  Wende- 
punkt  in  der  Geschichte  des  Geschlechts-verhaltnisses,5 
explains  it,  as  I cannot  but  think,  in  an  altogether  erro- 
neous manner.  He  regards  it  as  a liberation  of  the  spirit 
from  the  deceptive  appearances  of  nature,  an  elevation  of 
human  existence  above  the  laws  of  mere  matter,  as  a 
recognition  that  the  creative  power  is  the  most  impor- 
tant, and,  in  short,  as  a subordination  of  the  material  to 
the  spiritual  part  of  our  nature.  By  this  step,  he  says, 
6 Man  durchbricht  die  Banden  des  Tellurismus  und 
erhebt  seinen  Blick  zu  den  hohern  Begionen  des  Kosmos.’3 

This  seems  to  me,  I confess,  a very  curious  notion,  and 
one  with  which  I cannot  at  all  agree.  The  recognition 
of  paternal  responsibility  grew  up,  I believe,  gradually 
and  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  aided  by  the  impulses 
of  natural  affection.  On  the  other  hand,  the  adoption  of 
relationship  through  the  father’s  line,  instead  of  through 

1 La  M&re  chez  certains  penples  2 Loc.  cit.  p.  32. 
de  l'AntiquitA  3 Bachofen,  Das  Mutterreeht,  p.  xxviu 


110  CHANGE  FEOM  FEMALE  TO  MALE  SYSTEM  OF  KINSHIP. 


the  mother’s,  was  probably  effected  by  the  natural  wish 
which  every  one  would  feel  that  his  property  should  go  to 
his  own  children.  It  is  true  that  we  have  scarcely  any 
actual  records  of  this  change,  but  as  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
it  might  have  been  brought  about,  and  difficult  to  suppose 
that  the  opposite  step  can  ever  have  been  made  ; as  more- 
over we  find  relationship  through  the  father  very  general, 
not  to  say  universal,  in  civilised  races,  while  the  opposite 
system  is  very  common  among  savages,  it  is  evident  that 
this  change  must  frequently  have  been  effected. 

Taking  all  these  facts  then  into  consideration,  whenever 
we  find  relationship  through  females  only,  I think  we  may 
safely  look  upon  it  as  the  relic  of  an  ancient  barbarism. 

As  soon  as  the  change  was  made,  the  father  would  take 
the  place  held  previously  by  the  mother,  and  he,  instead 
of  she,  would  be  regarded  as  the  parent.  Hence  on  the 
birth  of  a child,  the  father  would  naturally  be  very  careful 
what  he  did,  and  what  he  ate,  for  fear  the  child  should  be 
injured.  Thus,  I believe,  arises  the  curious  custom  to 
which  I referred  in  my  first  chapter. 

Eelationship  to  the  father  at  first  excludes  that  to  the 
mother,  and  from  having  been  regarded  as  no  relation  to 
the  former,  children  came  to  be  looked  on  as  none  to  the 
latter. 

In  South  America,  where  it  is  customary  to  treat  captives 
well  in  every  respect,  for  a certain  time,  giving  them  clothes, 
food,  a wife,  &c.,  and  then  to  kill  and  eat  them,  any  children 
they  may  have  are  killed  and  eaten  also.1  In  North 
America,  as  we  have  seen,  the  system  of  relationship  through 
females  prevails  among  the  rude  races  of  the  North. 
Further  south,  as  Lafitau  long  ago  pointed  out,  we  find 
a curious,  and  so  to  say  intermediate,  system  among  the 
Iroquois  and  Hurons,  to  whom,  as  Mr.  Morgan  has  shown. 


1 Lafitau,  yol.  ii.  p.  307. 


SYSTEM  OF  KINSHIP  THEOUGH  MALES. 


Ill 


we  may  add  the  Tamils  of  India.1 — A man’s  brother’s 
children  are  reckoned  as  his  children,  but  his  sister’s 
children  are  his  nephews  and  nieces,  while  a woman’s 
brother’s  children  are  her  nephews  and  nieces,  and  her 
sister’s  children  are  her  children.2 


The  curious  system  thus  indicated  is  shown  more  fully 
in  the  following  table,  extracted  from  Mr.  Morgan’s  very 
interesting  memoir : 3 — 

Bed  Skin . 


Hanih 


Noyeh 


Haje 


Harakwuk  = 


r Father,  and  also 
Father’s  brother 

L Father’s  father’s  brother’s  son,  and  so  on. 

{Mother,  and  also 
Mother’s  sister 

Mother’s  mother’s  sister’s  daughter,  and 
so  on. 

f Brother  (elder),  and  also 
s Father’s  brother’s  son 
L Mother’s  sister’s  son,  and  so  on. 
f Son 

s Brother’s  son  (male  speaking) 
l Sister’s  son  (female  speaking). 


Takkappan 


Tay 


Tamaiyan 


Makan 


Tamil . 


{Father,  and  also 
Father’s  brother 

Father’s  father’s  brother’s  son,  and  so  on 
Mother’s  sister’s  husband. 
rMother,  and  also 
1 Mother’s  sister 
Father’s  brother’  wife 
1 Mother’s  mother’s  sister’s  daughter,  and 
L so  on. 

{Brother  elder,  and  also 
Father’s  brother’s  son 
Mother’s  sister’s  son,  and  so  on. 


f Son 

< Brother’s  son  (male  speaking) 
L Sister’s  son  (female  speaking). 


1 Proe.  American  Academy  of  Arts  2 Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  552. 
and  Sciences,  1866,  p.  456.  3 Loc,  cit . p.  456. 


112 


NEGLECT  OF  THE  MATERNAL  RELATION. 


That  these  names  really  imply  ideas  as  to 'relationship, 
and  have  not  arisen  from  mere  poverty  of  language,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  in  other  respects  their  nomencla- 
ture is  even  richer  than  ours.  Thus  they  have  different 
words  for  an  elder  brother  and  a younger  brother;  an 
elder  sister  and  a younger  sister ; so  again  the  names  for 
a brother’s  son,  a brother’s  daughter,  a sister’s  son,  and  a 
sister’s  daughter,  depend  on  whether  the  person  speaking 
is  a man  or  a woman.  Thus  they  distinguish  relation- 
ships which  we  correctly  regard  as  equivalent,  and  con- 
found others  which  are  really  distinct.  Moreover,  as  the 
languages  of  distinct  and  distant  races,  such  as  the  Iro- 
quois of  America  and  the  Tamil  of  Southern  India,  agree 
in  so  many  points,  we  cannot  dismiss  these  peculiarities  as 
mere  accidents,  but  must  regard  them  as  founded  on 
similar,  though  peculiar,  views  on  the  subject  of  relation- 
ship. 

That  in  the  case  of  the  Iroquois  this  system  arose  from 
that  of  relationship  through  females,  and  did  not  degene- 
rate from  ours,  is  evident ; because  in  it,  though  a man’s 
sister’s  children  are  his  nephews  and  nieces,  his  sister’s 
grandchildren  are  also  his  grandchildren ; indicating  the 
existence  of  a period  when  his  sister’s  children  were  his 
children,  and,  consequently,  when  relationship  was  traced 
in  the  female  line.  A man’s  brother’s  children  are  his 
children,  because  his  brother’s  wives  are  also  his  wives. 

How  completely  the  idea  of  relationship  through  the 
father,  when  once  recognised,  might  replace  that  through 
the  mother,  we  may  see  in  the  very  curious  trial  of  Orestes. 
Agamemnon,  having  been  murdered  by  his  wife  Clytem- 
nestra,  was  avenged  by  their  son  Orestes,  who  killed  his 
mother  for  the  murder  of  his  father.  For  this  act  he  was 
prosecuted  before  the  tribunal  of  the  gods  by  the  Erinnyes, 
whose  function  it  was  to  punish  those  who  shed  the  blood 


THE  PKESTCJrr  SYSTEM. 


113 


of  relatives.  In  his  defence,  Orestes  asks  them  why  they 
did  not  punish  Clytemnestra  for  the  murder  of  Agamem- 
non ; and  when  they  reply  that  marriage  does  not  con- 
stitute blood  relationship, — ‘ She  was  not  the  kindred  of 
the  man  whom  she  slew/ — he  pleads  that  by  the  same 
rule  they  cannot  touch  him,  because  a man  is  a relation  to 
his  father,  but  not  to  his  mother.  This  view,  which  seems 
to  us  so  unnatural,  was  supported  by  Apollo  and  Minerva, 
and  being  adopted  by  the  majority  of  the  gods,  led  to  the 
acquittal  of  Orestes. 

Hence  we  see  that  the  views  prevalent  on  relationship — 
views  by  which  the  whole  social  organisation  is  so  pro- 
foundly affected — are  by  no  means  the  same  among  diffe- 
rent races,  nor  uniform  at  the  same  historical  period.  We 
ourselves  still  confuse  affinity  and  consanguinity ; but  into 
this  part  of  the  question  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  : 
the  evidence  brought  forward  in  the  preceding  pages  is, 
however,  I think  sufficient  to  show  that  children  were  not 
in  the  earliest  times  regarded  as  related  equally  to  their 
father  and  their  mother,  but  that  the  natural  progress  of 
ideas  is,  first,  that  a child  is  related  to  his  tribe  generally; 
secondly,  to  his  mother,  and  not  to  his  father ; thirdly,  to 
his  father,  and  not  to  his  mother ; lastly,  and  lastly  only, 
that  he  is  related  to  both. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


RELIGION. 

THE  religion  of  savages,  though,  of  peculiar  interest,  is 
in  many  respects,  perhaps,  the  most  difficult  part  of 
my  whole  subject.  I shall  endeavour  to  avoid,  as  far  as 
possible,  anything  which  might  justly  give  pain  to  any 
of  my  readers.  Many  ideas,  however,  which  have  been, 
or  are,  prevalent  on  religious  matters  are  so  utterly 
opposed  to  our  own  that  it  is  impossible  to  discuss  the 
subject  without  mentioning  some  things  which  are  very 
repugnant  to  our  feelings.  Yet,  while  savages  show  us  a 
melancholy  spectacle  of  gross  superstitions  and  ferocious 
forms  of  worship,  the  religious  mind  cannot  but  feel  a 
peculiar  satisfaction  in  tracing  up  the  gradual  evolution  of 
more  correct  ideas  and  of  nobler  creeds. 

M.  Arbrousset  quotes  the  following  touching  remarks 
made  to  him  by  Sekesa,  a very  respectable  Kaffir  : 1 c Your 
tidings,5  he  said,  6 are  what  I want ; and  I was  seeking 
before  I knew  you,  as  you  shall  hear  and  judge  for  your- 
selves. Twelve  years  ago  I went  to  feed  my  flocks.  The 
weather  was  hazy.  I sat  down  upon  a rock  and  asked 
myself  sorrowful  questions  ; yes,  sorrowful,  because  I was 
unable  to  answer  them.  “Who  has  touched  the  stars 
with  his  hands  ? On  what  pillars  do  they  rest  ? 55  I asked 
myself.  “The  waters  are  never  weary:  they  know  no. 
other  law  than  to  flow,  without  ceasing,  from  morning  till 


1 The  Basutos.  Casalis,  p.  239. 


MENTAL  INACTIVITY  OF  SAVAGES.  115 

night,  and  from  night  till  morning ; but  where  do  they 
stop?  and  who  makes  them  flow  thus?  The  clouds  also 
come  and  go,  and  burst  in  water  over  the  earth.  Whence 
come  they  ? Who  sends  them  ? The  diviners  certainly 
do  not  give  us  rain,  for  how  could  they  do  it  ? and  why 
do  I not  see  them  with  my  own  eyes  when  they  go  up  to 
heaven  to  fetch  it  ? I cannot  see  the  wind,  but  what  is 
it  ? Who  brings  it,  makes  it  blow,  and  roar  and  terrify 
us  ? Do  I know  how  the  corn  sprouts  ? Yesterday  there 
was  not  a blade  in  my  field;  to-day  I returned  to  the 
field  and  found  some.  Who  can  have  given  to  the  earth 
the  wisdom  and  the  power  to  produce  it  ? 55  Then  I buried 
my  face  in  both  my  hands.5 

This,  however,  was  an  exceptional  case.  As  a general 
rule  savages  do  not  set  themselves  to  think  out  such  ques- 
tions, but  adopt  the  ideas  which  suggest  themselves  most 
naturally ; so  that,  as  I shall  attempt  to  show,  races  in  a 
similar  stage  of  mental  development,  however  distinct 
their  origin  may  be,  and  however  distant  the  regions  they 
inhabit,  have  very  similar  religious  conceptions.  Most  of 
those  who  have  endeavoured  to  account  for  the  various 
superstitions  of  savage  races  have  done  so  by  crediting 
them  with  a much  more  elaborate  system  of  ideas  than 
they  in  reality  possess.  Thus  Lafitau  supposes  that  fire  was 
worshipped  because  it  so  well  represents  ‘ cette  supreme 
intelligence  degagee  de  la  nature,  dont  la  puissance  est 
toujours  active.5 1 Again,  with  reference  to  idols,  he  ob- 
serves 2 that  ‘ La  dependance  que  nous  avons  de  Pimagina- 
tion  et  des  sens,  ne  nous  permettant  pas  de  voir  Dieu 
autrement  qu5en  Enigme,  comme  parle  saint  Paul,  a cause 
une  espece  de  necessity  de  nous  le  montrer  sous  des  images 
sensibles,  les-quelles  fussent  autant  de  symboles,  qui  nous 


1 Moeurs  des  Sauvages  Americains,  vol.  i.  p.  152. 


2 Loc.  oit.  p.  121. 


116 


CHARACTER  OF  RELIGION 


elevassent  jusqu’a  lui,  comme  le  portrait  nous  remet  dans 
l’idee  de  celui  dont  il  est  la  peinture.’  Plutarch.,  again, 
supposed  that  the  crocodile  was  worshipped  by  Egypt 
because,  having  no  tongue,  it  was  a type  of  the  Deity 
who  made  laws  for  nature  by  his  mere  will ! Explanations, 
however,  such  as  these  are  radically  wrong. 

I have  felt  doubtful  whether  this  chapter  should  not  be 
entitled  6 the  superstitions 5 rather  than  ‘ the  religion  * of 
savages ; but  have  preferred  the  latter,  partly  because 
many  of  the  superstitious  ideas  pass  gradually  into  nobler 
conceptions,  and  partly  from  a reluctance  to  condemn 
any  honest  belief,  however  absurd  and  imperfect  it  may 
be.  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  religion,  as 
understood  by  the  lower  savage  races,  differs  essentially 
from  ours ; nay,  it  is  not  only  different,  but  even  opposite. 
Thus  their  deities  are  evil,  not  good ; they  may  be  forced 
into  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  man;  they  require 
bloody,  and  rejoice  in  human,  sacrifices  ; they  are  mortal, 
not  immortal ; a part  of,  not  the  author  of  nature ; they 
are  to  be  approached  by  dances  rather  than  by  prayers ; 
and  often  approve  what  we  call  vice,  rather  than  what  we 
esteem  as  virtue. 

In  fact,  the  so-called  religion  of  the  lower  races  bears 
somewhat  the  same  relation  to  religion  in  its  higher  forms 
that  astrology  does  to  astronomy,  or  alchemy  to  chemistry. 
Astronomy  is  derived  from  astrology,  yet  their  spirit  is 
in  entire  opposition ; and  we  shall  find  the  same  difference 
between  the  religions  of  backward  and  of  advanced  races. 
We  regard  the  Deity  as  good ; they  look  upon  him  as 
evil;  we  submit  ourselves  to  him;  they  endeavour  to 
obtain  the  control  of  him ; we  feel  the  necessity  of  ac- 
counting for  the  blessings  by  which  we  are  surrounded ; 
they  think  the  blessings  come  of  themselves,  and  attribute 
all  evil  to  the  interference  of  malignant  beings. 


AMONG  THE  LOWER  RACES  OF  MAN.  117 

These  characteristics  are  not  exceptional  and  rare.  On 
the  contrary  I shall  attempt  to  show  that,  though  the  reli- 
gions of  the  lower  races  have  received  different  names, 
they  agree  in  their  general  characteristics,  and  are  but 
phases  of  one  sequence,  having  the  same  origin,  and  pass- 
ing through  similar,  if  not  identical,  stages.  This  will 
explain  the  great  similarities  which  occur  in  the  most 
distinct  and  distant  races,  which  have  puzzled  many  eth- 
nologists, and  in  some  cases  led  them  to  utterly  untenable 
theories.  Thus  even  Eobertson,  though  in  many  respects 
he  held  very  correct  views  as  to  the  religious  condition 
of  savages,  remarks  that  sun-worship  prevailed  among 
the  Natchez  and  the  Persians,  and  observes,1  ‘this  sur- 
prising coincidence  in  sentiment  between  two  nations  in 
such  different  states  of  improvement  is  one  of  the  many 
singular  and  unaccountable  circumstances  which  occur 
in  the  history  of  human  affairs.5 

Although  however  we  find  the  most  remarkable  coin- 
cidences between  the  religions  of  distinct  races,  one  of 
the  peculiar  difficulties  in  the  study  of  religion  arises  from 
the  fact  that,  while  each  nation  has  generally  but  one 
language,  we  may  almost  say  that  in  religious  matters, 
quot  homines  tot  sententice ; no  two  men  having  exactly  the 
same  views,  however  much  they  may  wish  to  agree. 

Many  travellers  have  pointed  out  this  difficulty.  Thus 
Captain  Cook,  speaking  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  says : 
‘ Of  the  religion  2 of  these  people  we  were  not  able  to  ac- 
quire any  clear  and  consistent  knowledge ; we  found  it 
like  the  religion  of  most  other  countries — involved  in 
mystery  and  perplexed  with  apparent  inconsistencies.5 
Many  also  of  those  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  informa- 
tion on  the  subject,  fully  expecting  to  find  among  savages 

1 History  of  America,  book  iv.  p.  2 Hawkeswortb’s  Voyages,  vol.  ii« 

127.  p,  237. 


118 


DIFFICULTY  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 


ideas  like  our  own,  obscured  only  by  errors  and  supersti- 
tions, have  put  leading  questions,  and  thus  got  misleading 
answers.  We  constantly  hear,  for  instance,  of  a Devil, 
but  in  fact  no  spiritual  being  in  the  mythology  of  any 
savage  race  possesses  the  characteristics  of  Satan.  Again, 
it  is  often  very  difficult  to  determine  in  what  sense  an 
object  is  worshipped.  A mountain,  or  a river,  for  instance, 
may  be  held  sacred  either  as  an  actual  Deity  or  merely 
as  his  abode ; and  in  the  same  way  a statue  may  be 
actually  worshipped  as  a god,  or  merely  reverenced  as 
representing  the  Divinity. 

To  a great  extent,  moreover,  these  difficulties  arise  from 
the  fact  that  when  Man,  either  by  natural  progress  or  the 
influence  of  a more  advanced  race,  rises  to  the  conception 
of  a higher  religion,  he  still  retains  his  old  beliefs,  which 
long  linger  on,  side  by  side  with,  and  yet  in  utter  opposi- 
tion to,  the  higher  creed.  The  new  and  more  powerful 
Spirit  is  an  addition  to  the  old  Pantheon,  and  diminishes 
the  importance  of  the  older  deities ; gradually  the  wor- 
ship of  the  latter  sinks  in  the  social  scale,  and  becomes 
confined  to  the  ignorant  and  the  young.  Thus  a belief  in 
witchcraft  still  flourishes  among  our  agricultural  labourers 
and  the  lowest  classes  in  our  great  cities,  and  the  deities 
of  our  ancestors  survive  in  the  nursery  tales  of  our  children. 
We  must  therefore  expect  to  find  in  each  race  traces — 
nay,  more  than  traces,  of  lower  religions.  Even  if  this 
were  not  the  case  we  should  still  be  met  by  the  difficulty 
that  there  are  few  really  sharp  lines  in  religious  systems. 
It  might  be  supposed  that  a belief  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  or  in  the  efficacy  of  sacrifices,  would  give  us  good 
lines  of  division ; but  it  is  not  so : these  and  many  other 
ideas  rise  gradually,  and  even  often  appear  at  first  in  a 
form  very  different  from  that  which  they  ultimately 
assume. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  LOWER  RELIGIONS.  119 

Hitherto  it  has  been  usual  to  classify  religions  accord- 
ing to  the  natureof  the  object  worshipped : Fetichism,  for 
instance,  being  the  worship  of  inanimate  objects,  Sabspism 
that  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  The  true  test,  however,  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  estimate  in  which  the  Deity  is  held.  The 
first  great  stages  in  religious  thought  may,  I think,  be 
regarded  as — 

Atheism ; understanding  by  this  term  not  a denial  ol 
the  existence  of  a Deity,  but  an  absence  of  any  definite 
ideas  on  the  subject. 

Fetichism;  the  stage  in  which  man  supposes  he  can 
force  the  Deity  to  comply  with  his  desires. 

Nature-worship , or  Totemism;  in  which  natural  objects, 
trees,  lakes,  stones,  animals,  &c.  are  worshipped. 

Shamanism  ; in  which  the  superior  deities  are  far  more 
powerful  than  man,  and  of  a different  nature.  Their 
place  of  abode  also  is  far  away,  and  accessible  only  to 
Shamans. 

Idolatry , or  Anthropomorphism  ; in  which  the  gods  take 
still  more  completely  the  nature  of  men,  being,  however, 
more  powerful.  They  are  still  amenable  to  persuasion ; 
they  are  a part  of  nature,  and  not  creators.  They  are 
represented  by  images  or  idols. 

In  the  next  stage  the  Deity  is  regarded  as  the  author, 
not  merely  a part,  of  nature.  He  becomes  for  the  first 
time  a really  supernatural  being. 

The  last  stage  to  which  I will  refer  is  that  in  which 
morality  is  associated  with  religion. 

Since  the  above  was  written  my  attention  was  called  by 
De  Brosse’s  c Culte  des  Dieux  Fetiches 5 to  a passage  in 
Sanchoniatho,  quoted  by  Eusebius.  From  his  description 
of  the  first  thirteen  generations  of  men  I extract  the 
following  passages : — 

Generation  1. — The  ‘ first  men  consecrated  the  plants 


120  SEQUENCE  OF  RELIGIONS  ACCORDING  TO  SANCHONIATHO. 

sliooting  out  of  the  earth,  and  judged  them  gods,  and 
worshipped  them,  upon  whom  they  themselves  lived.5 

Gen.  2.— The  second  generation  of  men  ‘were  called 
Genus  and  Genea,  and  dwelt  in  Phoenicia ; but  when  great 
droughts  came,  they  stretched  their  hands  up  to  heaven 
towards  the  sun,  for  him  they  thought  the  only  Lord  of 
Heaven.5 

Gen.  3. — Afterwards  other  mortal  issue  was  begotten, 
whose  names  were  Phos,  Pur,  and  Phlox  (i.e.  Light,  Eire, 
and  Flame).  These  found  out  the  way  of  generating  fire 
by  the  rubbing  of  pieces  of  wood  against  each  other,  and 
taught  men  the  use  thereof. 

Gen.  4. — The  fourth  generation  consists  of  giants. 

Gen.  5. — With  reference  to  the  fifth  he  mentions  the 
existence  of  communal  marriage,  and  that  ITsous  6 con- 
secrated two  'pillars  to  Fire  and  Wind,  and  bowed  down  to 
them,  and  poured  out  to  them  the  blood  of  such  wild 
beasts  as  had  been  caught  in  hunting.5 

Gen.  6. — Hunting  and  fishing  are  invented ; which 
seems  rather  inconsistent  with  the  preceding  statement.  . 

Gen.  7. — Chrysor,  whom  he  affirms  to  be  Yulcan, 
discovered  iron  and  the  art  of  forging.  ‘ Wherefore  he 
also  was  worshipped  after  his  death  for  a god,  and  they 
called  him  Diamichius  (or  Zeus  Michius).5 

Gen.  8. — Pottery  was  discovered. 

Gen.  9.— How  comes  Agrus,  ‘ who  had  a much- 
worshipped  statue,  and  a temple  carried  about  by  one  or 
more  yoke  of  oxen  in  Phoenicia. 

Gen.  10. — Tillages  were  formed,  and  men  kept  flocks. 

Gen.  11. — Salt  was  discovered. 

Gen.  12. — Taautus  or  Hermes  discovered  letters.  The 
Cabiri  belong  to  this  generation.  * 

Thus  then  we  find  mentioned  in  order  the  worship  of 
plants,  heavenly  bodies,  pillars,  and  men  ; later  still  comes 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITION  OF  THE  LOWEST  RACES.  121 

Idolatry  coupled  with  Temples.  It  will  be  observed  that 
he  makes  no  special  mention  of  Shamanism,  and  that  he 
regards  the  worship  of  plants  as  aboriginal. 

The  opinion  that  religion  is  general  and  universal  has 
been  entertained  by  many  high  authorities.  Yet  it  is  op- 
posed to  the  evidence  of  numerous  trustworthy  observers. 
Sailors,  traders,  and  philosophers,  Roman  Catholic  priests 
and  Protestant  missionaries,  in  ancient  and  in  modern 
times,  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  have  concurred  in  stating 
that  there  are  races  of  men  altogether  devoid  of  religion. 
The  case  is  the  stronger  because  in  several  instances  the 
fact  has  greatly  surprised  him  who  records  it,  and  has  been 
entirely  in  opposition  to  all  his  preconceived  views.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  must  be  confessed  that  in  some  cases 
travellers  denied  the  existence  of  a religion  merely  because 
the  tenets  were  unlike  ours.  The  question  as  to  the  general 
existence  of  religion  among  men  is,  indeed,  to  a great  ex- 
tent a matter  of  definition.  If  the  mere  sensation  of  fear, 
and  the  recognition  that  there  are  probably  other  beings 
more  powerful  than  man,  are  sufficient  alone  to  constitute 
a religion,  then  we  must,  I think,  admit  that  religion  is 
general  to  the  human  race.  But  when  a child  dreads  the 
darkness,  and  shrinks  from  a lightless  room,  we  never 
regard  that  as  an  evidence  of  religion.  Moreover,  if  this 
definition  be  adopted,  we  cannot  longer  regard  religion  as 
peculiar  to  man.  We  must  admit  that  the  feeling  of  a 
dog  or  a horse  towards  its  master  is  of  the  same  character ; 
and  the  baying  of  a dog  to  the  moon  is  as  much  an  act  of 
worship  as  some  ceremonies  which  have  been  so  described 
by  travellers. 

In  Prehistoric  Times,51  I have  quoted  the  following 
writers  as  witnesses  to  the  existence  of  tribes  without 


1 Prehistoric  Times,  2nd  edition,  p.  564. 


122 


ABSENCE  OF  RELIGION. 


religion.  For  some  of  the  Esquimaux  tribes,  Captain 
Ross;1  for  some  of  the  Canadians,  Hearne;  for  the  Cali- 
fornians, Baegert,  who  lived  among  them  seventeen  years, 
and  La  Perouse ; for  many  of  the  Brazilian  tribes,  Spix 
and  Martius,  Bates  and  Wallace ; for  Paraguay,  Dobritz- 
hoffer ; for  some  of  the  Polynesians,  Williams5  Missionary 
Enterprises,  the  Voyage  of  the  Novara,  and  Dietfenbach ; 
for  Damood  Island  (north  of  Australia),  Jukes  (Voyage 
of  the  Fly) ; for  the  Pellew  Islands,  Wilson;  for  tbe  Aru 
Islands,  Wallace ; for  the  Andamaners,  Mouatt ; for 
certain  tribes  of  Hindostan,  Hooker  and  Shortt ; for  some 
of  the  eastern  African  nations,  Burton  and  Grant ; for  the 
Bachapin  Kaffirs,  Burchell ; and  for  the  Hottentots,  Le 
Vaillant.  1 will  here  only  give  a few  instances. 

‘ It  is  evident,’  says  M.  Bik,2  * that  the  Arafuras  of 
Vorkay  (one  of  the  Southern  Arus)  possess  no  religion 
whatever.  ...  Of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  they  have 
not  the  least  conception.  To  all  my  enquiries  on  this 
subject  they  answered,  “No  Arafura  has  ever  returned  to 
us  after  death,  therefore  we  know  nothing  of  a future 
state,  and  this  is  the  first  time  we  have  heard  of  it.”  Their 
idea  was,  Mati,  Mati  sudah  (When  you  are  dead  there  is 
an  end  of  you).  Neither  have  they  any  notion  of  the 
creation  of  the  world.  They  only  answered  “ None  of  us 
are  aware  of  this ; we  have  never  heard  anything  about  it, 
and  therefore  do  not  know  who  has  done  it  all.”  To  con- 
vince myself  more  fully  respecting  their  want  of  knowledge 
of  a Supreme  Being,  I demanded  of  them  on  whom  they 
called  for  help  in  their  need,  when,  far  from  their  homes, 
engaged  in  the  trepang  fishery,  their  vessels  were  over- 
taken by  violent  tempests,  and  no  human  power  could 
save  them,  their  wives  and  children,  from  destruction.  The 

1 See  also  Franklin’s  Journey  to  the  2 Quoted  in  Kollf’s  Voyages  of  the 
Polar  Sea,  vol.  ii.  p.  266.  Dourga,  p.  169. 


ABSENCE  OP  RELIGION. 


123 


eldest  among  them,  after  having  consulted  the  others, 
answered  that  they  knew  not  on  whom  they  could  call  for 
assistance,  hut  begged  me,  if  I knew,  to  be  so  good  as  to 
inform  them.5 

‘ The  wilder  Bedouins,51  says  Burton,  c will  enquire  where 
Allah  is  to  be  found  : when  asked  the  object  of  the  ques- 
tion, they  reply,  u If  the  Eesa  could  but  catch  him  they 
would  spear  him  upon  the  spot,— who  but  he  lays  waste 
their  homes  and  kills  their  cattle  and  wives  ? 55  Yet,  con- 
joined to  this  truly  savage  incapability  of  conceiving  the 
idea  of  a Supreme  Being,  they  believe  in  the  most  ridicu- 
lous exaggerations  : many  will  not  affront  a common 
pilgrim,  for  fear  of  being  killed  by  a glance  or  a word.5 

Burton  also  considers  that  atheism  is  ‘the  natural 
condition  of  the  savage  and  uninstructed  mind,  the  night 
of  spiritual  existence,  which  disappears  before  the  dawn  of 
a belief  in  things  unseen.  A Creator  is  to  creation  what 
the  cause  of  any  event  in  life  is  to  its  effect ; those  familiar 
to  the  sequence  will  hardly  credit  its  absence  from  the 
minds  of  others.5  2 

Among  the  Koossa  Kaffirs,  Lichtenstein3  affirms  that 
‘ there  is  no  appearance  of  any  religious  worship  what- 
ever.5 

‘ It  might  be  the  proper  ^ime  now,5  says  Bather  Baegert, 
‘ to  speak  of  the  form  of  government  and  the  religion  of  the 
Californians  previous  to  their  conversion  to  Christianity  ; 
but  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  existed  among  them. 
They  had  no  magistrates,  no  police,  and  no  laws ; idols, 
temples,  religious  worship  or  ceremonies,  were  unknown 
to  them,  and  they  neither  believed  in  the  true  and  only 
God,  nor  adored  false  deities.  ...  I made  diligent  en- 
quiries, among  those  with  whom  I lived,  to  ascertain 

1 Pirst  Pootsteps  in  East  Africa, 
p.  52. 


2 Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  179. 

3 Lichtenstein,  rol.  i.  p.  253. 


124 


ABSENCE  OF  RELIGION. 


whether  they  had  any  conception  of  God,  a future  life  and 
their  own  souls,  but  I never  could  discover  the  slightest 
trace  of  such  a knowledge.  Their  language  has  no  words 
for  “ God  ” and  “ soul.”  ’ 1 

Although,  as  Captain  John  Smith2  quaintly  put  it, 
there  was  6 in  Virginia  no  place  discovered  to  be  so  savage 
in  which  they  had  not  a religion,  Deere,  and  bows  and 
arrows/  still,  the  ruder  tribes  in  the  far  North,  according 
to  the  testimony  of  Hearne,  Vvho  knew  them  intimately, 
had  no  religion. 

Several  tribes,  says  Eobertson, 3 c have  been  discovered 
in  America,  which  have  no  idea  whatever  of  a Supreme 
Being,  and  no  rites  of  religious  worship.  Inattentive  to 
that  magnificent  spectacle  of  beauty  and  order  presented 
to  their  view,  unaccustomed  to  reflect  either  upon  what 
they  themselves  are,  or  to  enquire  who  is  the  author  of 
their  existence,  men,  in  their  savage  state,  pass  their  days 
like  the  animals  round  them,  without  knowledge  or  vener- 
ation of  any  superior  power.  Some  rude  tribes  have  not 
in  their  language  any  name  for  the  Deity,  nor  have  the 
most  accurate  observers  been  able  to  discover  any  practice 
or  institution  which  seemed  to  imply  that  they  recognised 
his  authority,  or  were  solicitous  to  obtain  his  favour.’ 

In  the  face  of  such  a crowd  of  witnesses  it  may  at  first 
sight  seem  extraordinary  that  there  can  still  be  any 
difference  of  opinion  on  the  subject.  This,  however,  arises 
partly  from  the  fact  that  the  term  ‘Beligion’  has  not 
always  been  used  in  the  same  sense,  and  partly  from  a 
belief  that,  as  has  no  doubt  happened  in  several  cases, 
travellers  may,  from  ignorance  of  the  language,  or  from 
shortness  of  residence,  have  overlooked  a religion  which 
really  existed. 

1 Baegert.  Smithsonian  Trans.,  3 History  of  America,  book  iv. 

1863-4,  p.  390.  122. 

2 Voyages  in  Virginia,  p.  138. 


RUDIMENTARY  RELIGION. 


125 


For  instance,  the  first  describers  of  Tahiti  asserted  that 
the  natives  had  no  religion,  which  subsequently  proved  to 
be  a complete  mistake ; and  several  other  similar  cases 
might  be  quoted.  As  regards  the  lowest  races  of  men,  how- 
ever, it  seems  to  me,  even  a priori,  very  difficult  to  suppose 
that  a people  so  backward  as  to  be  unable  to  count  their 
own  fingers  should  be  sufficiently  advanced  in  their  intellec- 
tual conceptions  as  to  have  any  system  of  belief  worthy  of 
the  name  of  a religion. 

We  shall,  however,  obtain  a clearer  view  of  the  ques- 
tion if  we  consider  the  superstitions  of  those  races  which 
have  a rudimentary  religion,  and  endeavour  to  trace  these 
ideas  up  into  a more  developed  condition. 

Here  again  we  shall  perhaps  be  met  by  the  doubt 
whether  travellers  have  correctly  understood  the  accounts 
given  to  them.  In  many  cases,  however,  when  the  narra- 
tor had  lived  for  months,  or  years,  among  those  whom  he 
was  describing,  we  need  certainly  feel  no  suspicion,  and  in 
others  we  shall  obtain  a satisfactory  result  by  comparing 
together  the  statements  of  different  observers  and  using 
them  as  a check  one  upon  the  other. 

The  religious  theories  of  savages  are  certainly  not  the 
result  of  deep  thought,  nor  must  they  be  regarded  as  con- 
stituting any  elaborate  or  continuous  theory.  A Zulu 
candidly  said  to  Mr.  Callaway,1  ‘ Our  knowledge  does  not 
urge  us  to  search  out  the  roots  of  it ; we  do  not  try  to  see 
them ; if  anyone  thinks  ever  so  little,  he  soon  gives  it  up, 
and  passes  on  to  what  he  sees  with  his  eyes ; and  he  does 
not  understand  the  real  state  of  even  what  he  sees/ 
Dulaure  truly  observes,  that  the  savage  ‘ aime  mieux 
soumettre  sa  raison,  sou  vent  revoltee,  a ce  que  ses  institu- 
tions ont  de  plus  absurde,  que  se  livrer  a Texamen,  par- 
ceque  ce  travail  est  toujours  penible  pour  celui  qui  ne  s’y 


The  Religious  System  of  the  Amazulu,  p.  22. 


126  RELIGIOUS  IDEAS  AS  SUGGESTED  BY  DREAMS. 

est  point  exerce.5  With  this  statement  I entirely  concur, 
and  I believe  that  through  all  the  various  religious  systems 
of  the  lower  races  may  be  traced  a natural  and  unconscious 
process  of  development. 

Dreams  are  intimately  associated  with  the  lower  forms  of 
religion.  To  the  savage  they  have  a reality  and  an  import- 
ance which  we  can  scarcely  appreciate.  During  sleep  the 
spirit  seems  to  desert  the  body ; and  as  in  dreams  we  visit 
other  localities  and  even  other  worlds,  living  as  it  were  a 
separate  and  different  life,  the  two  phenomena  are  not 
unnaturally  regarded  as  the  complements  of  one  another. 
Hence  the  savage  considers  the  events  in  his  dreams  to  be 
as  real  as  those  of  his  waking  hours,  and  hence  he  natu- 
rally feels  that  he  has  a spirit  which  can  quit  the  body. 
‘ Dreams/  says  Burton,  6 according  to  the  Yorubans  and 
to  many  of  our  fetichists,  are  not  an  irregular  action 
and  partial  activity  of  the  brain,  but  so  many  revelations 
brought  by  the  manes  of  the  departed.5  2 So  strong 
was  the  North  American  faith  in  dreams  that  on  one 
occasion,  when  an  Indian  dreamt  he  was  taken  captive, 
he  induced  his  friends  to  make  a mock  attack  on  him,  to 
bind  him  and  treat  him  as  a captive,  actually  submitting 
to  a considerable  amount  of  torture,  in  the  hope  thus  to 
fulfil  his  dream.3  The  Greenlanders 4 also  believe  in  the 
reality  of  dreams,  and  think  that  at  night  they  go  hunting, 
visiting,  courting,  and  so  on.  It  is  of  course  obvious  that 
the  body  takes  no  part  in  these  nocturnal  adventures,  and 
hence  it  is  natural  to  conclude  that  they  have  a spirit 
which  can  quit  the  body. 

In  Madagascar5  ‘the  people  throughout  the  whole  island 
pay  a religious  regard  to  dreams,  and  imagine  that  their 

1 Histoire  des  Cultes,  vol.  i.  p.  22.  4 Crantz,  loc.  cit.  toI.  i.  p.  200. 

2 Abbeokuta,  toI.  i.  p.  204.  5 The  Adventures  of  Robert  Drury 

5 Lafitau,  loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  366.  p.  171.  See  also  pp.  176,  272. 


RELIGIOUS  IDEAS  AS  SUGGESTED  BY  DREAMS.  127 

good  demons  (for  I cannot  tell  what  other  name  to  give 
their  inferior  deities,  which,  as  they  say,  attend  on  their 
owleys,)  tell  them  in  their  dreams  what  ought  to  be  done, 
or  warn  them  of  what  ought  to  be  avoided.5 

Lastly,  when  they  dream  of  their  departed  friends  or 
relatives,  savages  firmly  believe  themselves  to  be  visited 
by  their  spirits,  and  hence  believe,  not  indeed  in  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  but  in  its  survival  of  the  body. 
Thus  the  Manganjas,  South  Africa,  expressly  ground  their 
belief  in  a future  life  on  the  fact  that  their  friends  visit 
them  in  their  sleep.  Again,  savages  are  rarely  ill ; their 
sufferings  generally  arise  from  wounds ; their  deaths  are 
generally  violent.  As  an  external  injury  received  in  war 
causes  pain,  so  when  they  suffer  internally  they  attribute 
it  to  some  internal  enemy.  Hence  whence  the  Australian, 
perhaps  after  too  heavy  a meal,  has  his  slumbers  disturbed, 
he  never  doubts  the  reality  of  what  is  passing,  but  con- 
siders that  he  is  attacked  by  some  being  whom  his  com- 
panions cannot  see. 

This  is  well  illustrated  in  the  following  passage  from 
the  f United  States  Exploring  Expedition  : 5 1 ‘ Sometimes, 
when  the  Australians  are  asleep,  Koin  makes  his  appear- 
ance, seizes  upon  one  of  them  and  carries  him  off.  The 
person  seized  endeavours  in  vain  to  cry  out,  being  almost 
strangled.  At  daylight,  however,  he  disappears,  and  the 
man  finds  himself  conveyed  safely  to  his  own  fireside. 
From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  demon  is  here  a sort 
of  personification  of  the  night-mare — a visitation  to  which 
the  natives,  from  their  habits  of  gorging  themselves  to 
the  utmost  when  they  obtain  a supply  of  food,  must  be 
very  subject.5 

Speaking  of  the  Horth- Western  Americans,  Mr.  Sproat 


' Loc.  cit . yoI.  vi.  p.  110. 


128 


THE  SHADOW. 


says : 1 c The  apparition  of  ghosts  is  especially  an  occasion 
on  which  the  services  of  the  sorcerers,  the  old  women,  and 
all  the  friends  of  the  ghost-seer  are  in  great  request. 
Owing  to  the  quantity  of  indigestible  food  eaten  by  the 
natives,  they  often  dream  that  they  are  visited  by  ghosts. 
After  a supper  of  blubber,  followed  by  one  of  the  long 
talks  about  departed  friends,  which  take  place  round  the 
fire,  some  nervous  and  timid  person  may  fancy,  in  the 
night  time,  that  he  sees  a ghost.5 

In  some  cases  the  belief  that  man  possesses  a spirit 
seems  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  shadow.  Thus, 
among  the  Fijians,2  c some  speak  of  man  as  having  two 
spirits.  His  shadow  is  called  “ the  dark  spirit,55  which 
they  say  goes  to  Hades.  The  other  is  his  likeness  reflected 
in  water  or  a looking-glass,  and  is  supposed  to  stay  near 
the  place  in  which  a man  dies.  Probably  this  doctrine  of 
shadows  has  to  do  with  the  notion  of  inanimate  objects 
having  spirits.  I once  placed  a good-looking  native 
suddenly  before  a mirror.  He  stood  delighted.  “ How,5' 
said  he  softly, “ 1 can  see  into  the  world  of  spirits.55  5 

The  North  American  Indians  also  consider  a man’s 
shadow  as  his  soul  or  life.  c I have,5  says  Tanner,  ‘ heard 
them  reproach  a sick  person  for  what  they  considered  im- 
prudent exposure  in  convalescence,  telling  him  that  his 
shadow  was  not  well  settled  down  in  him.5  3 

The  natives  of  Benin  c call  a man’s  shadow  his  passadoor, 
or  conductor,  and  believe  it  will  witness  if  he  lived  well  or 
ill.  Xf  well,  he  is  raised  to  great  happiness  and  dignity  in 
the  place  before  mentioned ; if  ill,  he  is  to  perish  with 
hunger  and  poverty.5  4 They  are  indeed  a most  super- 

h Scenes  and  Studies  of  Savage  Life,  4 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol. 
p.  172.  iii.  p.  99.  Pinkerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  531. 

2 Williams’  Piji  and  tlie  Pijians,  See  also  Callaway  On  the  Religious 

vol.  i.  p.  241.  System  of  the  Amazulu,  p.  91. 

3 Tanner’s  Captivity,  p.  291. 


SPIRITS  AT  FIRST  REGARDED  AS  EVIL. 


129 


stitious  race ; and  Lander  mentions  a case  in  which,  an 
echo  was  taken  for  the  voice  of  a Fetich.1 

Thunder,  also,  was  often  regarded  either  as  an  actual 
deity,  or  as  a heavenly  voice.  6 One  night/  says  Tanner, 
6 Picheto  (a  North  American  chief)  becoming  much  alarmed 
at  the  violence  of  the  storm,  got  up  and  offered  some  tobacco 
to  the  thunder,  entreating  it  to  stop.5  2 

I have  already  mentioned  that  savages  almost  always 
regard  spirits  as  evil  beings.  We  can,  I think,  easily 
understand  why  this  should  be.  Amongst  the  very  lowest 
races  every  other  man — amongst  those  slightly  more  ad- 
vanced, every  man  of  a different  tribe,  is  regarded  as 
naturally,  and  almost  necessarily  hostile.  A stranger 
is  synonymous  with  an  enemy,  and  a spirit  is  but  a 
member  of  an  invisible  tribe. 

The  Hottentots,  according  to  Thunberg,  have  very 
vague  ideas  about  a good  Deity.  ‘ They  have  much 
clearer  notions  about  an  evil  spirit,  whom  they  fear,  be- 
lieving him  to  be  the  occasion  of  sickness,  death,  thunder, 
and  every  calamity  that  befalls  them.5  3 The  Bechuanas 
attribute  all  evil  to  an  invisible  god,  whom  they  call 
Murimo,  and  c never  hesitate  to  show  their  indignation 
at  any  ill  experienced,  or  any  wish  unaccomplished,  by 
the  most  bitter  curses.  They  have  no  religious  worship, 
and  could  never  be  persuaded  by  the  missionaries  that 
this  was  a thing  displeasing  to  God.5  4 

The  Abipones  of  South  America,  so  well  described  by 
Dobritzhoffer,  had  some  vague  notions  of  an  evil  spirit, 
but  none  of  a good  one.5  The  Coroados 6 of  Brazil  ‘ acknow- 

1 Niger  Expedition,  yoI.  iii.  p.  242.  366. 

2 Tanner’s  Narrative  of  a Captivity  4 Lichtenstein,  vol.  ii.  p.  332. 

among  the  Indians,  p.  136.  5 Dobritzhofferj  loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  pp. 

3 Thunberg.  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  35,  64. 

vol.  xv.  p.  142.  Astley,  loc . cit.  p.  6 Spix  and  Martins,  vol.  ii.  p.  243. 

1 


130 


SPIRITS  REGARDED  AS  EVIL. 


ledge  no  cause  of  good,  or  no  God,  but  only  an  evil  prin- 
ciple, wliich  . . . • leads  liim  astray,  vexes  him,  brings 
him  into  difficulty  and  danger,  and  even  kills  him.5 

In  Virginia  and  Florida  the  evil  spirit  was  worshipped 
and  not  the  good,  because  the  former  might  be  propitiated, 
while  the  latter  was  sure  to  do  all  the  good  he  could.1 * 
So  also  the  ‘ Cemis  5 of  the  West  Indian  Islands  were 
regarded  as  evil,  and  ‘reputed  to  be  the  authors  of. every 
calamity  that  affects  the  human  race.52  The  Redskin, 
says  Carver,3  ‘ lives  in  continual  apprehension  of  the 
unkind  attacks  of  spirits,  and  to  avert  them  has  recourse 
to  charms,  to  the  fantastic  ceremonies  of  his  priest,  or  the 
powerful  influence  of  his  manitous.  Fear  has  of  course  a 
greater  share  in  his  devotions  than  gratitude,  and  he  pays 
more  attention  to  deprecating  the  wrath  of  the  evil  than 
securing  the  favour  of  the  good  beings.5  The  Tatars  of 
Katschiutzi  also  considered  the  evil  spirit  to  be  more 
powerful  than  the  good.4  The  West  Coast  Negroes,  accord- 
ing to  Artus,5  represent  their  deities  as  ‘ black  and  mis- 
chievous, delighting  to  torment  them  various  ways.5 
They  said  6 that  the  Europeans’  God  was  very  good,  who 
gave  them  such  blessings,  and  treated  them  like  his 
children.  Others  asked,  murmuring,  why  God  was  not  as 
kind  to  them  ? Why  did  not  he  supply  them  with  woollen 
and  linen  cloth,  iron,  brass,  and  such  things,  as  well  as 
the  Dutch  ? The  Dutch  answered,  that  God  had  not 
neglected  theip,  since  he  had  sent  them  gold,  palm-wine, 
fruits,  corn,  oxen,  goats,  hens,  and  many  other  things 
necessary  to  life,  as  tokens  of  his  bounty.  But  there  was 
no  persuading  them  these  things  came  from  God.  They 

1 Muller’s  Americaniselien  Urreli-  3 Travels,  p.  388. 

gionen,  p.  151.  4 Pallas,  vol.  iii.  p.  433. 

1 Robertson’s  America,  book  iv.  5 A sPey’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol. 

p.  124.  ii.  p.  CGI. 


SPIRITS  REGARDED  AS  CAUSING  DISEASE.  131 

said  the  earth,  and  not  God,  gave  them  gold,  which  was 
dug  out  of  its  bowels  : that  the  earth  yielded  them  maize 
and  rice;  and  that  not  without  the  help  of  their  own 
labour ; that  for  fruits  they  were  obliged  to  the  Portuguese, 
who  had  planted  the  trees ; that  their  cattle  brought  them 
young  ones,  and  the  sea  furnished  them  with  fish ; that, 
however,  in  all  these  their  own  industry  and  labour  was 
required,  without  which  they  must  starve ; so  that  they 
could  not  see  how  they  were  obliged  to  God  for  any  of 
those  benefits.’ 

When  Burton  spoke  to  the  Eastern  Negroes  about  the 
Deity,  they  eagerly  asked  where  he  was  to  be  found,  in  order 
that  they  might  kill  him  ; for  they  said,  ‘ Who  but  he  lays 
waste  our  homes,  and  kills  our  wives  and  cattle  P’ 

The  following  expression  of  Eesa  feelings,  overheard  by 
Burton,  gives  a dreadful  illustration  of  this  idea.  An  old 
woman,  belonging  to  that  Arab  tribe,  having  a toothache, 
offered  up  the  following  prayer : ‘ Oh,  Allah,  may  thy  teeth 
ache  like  mine ! Oh,  Allah,  may  thy  gums  be  as  sore  as 
mine ! ’ Can  this  be  called  ‘ religion 5 ? Surely  in  spirit 
it  is  the  very  reverse. 

In  New  Zealand1  each  disease  was  regarded  as  being 
caused  by  a particular  god ; thus  ‘ Tonga  was  the  god  who 
caused  headache  and  sickness  : he  took  up  his  abode  in  the 
forehead.  Moko-Tiki,  a lizard  god,  was  the  source  of  all 
pains  in  the  breast ; Tu-tangata-kino  was  the  god  of  the 
stomach ; Titi-hai  occasioned  pains  in  the  ankles  and  feet ; 
Rongomai  and  Tuparitapu  were  the  gods  of  consumption ; 
Koro-kio  presided  over  childbirth.’ 

‘ Sickness,’  says  Yate,2  ‘is  brought  on  by  the  “ Atua,”  who, 
when  he  is  angry,  comes  to  them  in  the  form  of  a lizard, 
enters  their  inside,  and  preys  upon  their  vitals  till  they 

1 Taylor’s  New  Zealand  and  its  Inhabitants,  p.  34. 

2 Yate’s  New  Zealand,  p.  141. 


132 


DISBELIEF  AMONG  SAVAGES  IN  THE 


die.  Hence  they  use  incantations  over  the  sick,  with  the 
expectation  of  either  propitiating  the  angry  deity  or  of 
driving  him  away ; for  the  latter  of  which  purposes  they 
make  use  of  the  most  threatening  and  outrageous 
language/  The  Stiens  of  Cambodia  believe  ‘ in  an  evil 
genius,  and  attribute  all  disease  to  him.  If  anyone  be 
suffering  from  illness,  they  say  it  is  the  demon  tormenting 
him  ; and,  with  this  idea,  make,  night  and  day,  an  insup- 
portable noise  around  the  patient/1 

The  Koussa  Kaffirs,2  says  Lichtenstein,  ascribe  all  their 
diseases  to  one  of  three  causes  : either  to  being  enchanted 
by  an  enemy ; to  the  anger  of  certain  beings,  whose  abode 
appears  to  be  in  the  rivers  ; or  to  the  power  of  evil  spirits/ 
Among  the  Kols  of  Nagpore,  as  Colonel  E.  T.  Dalton 
tells  us,  ‘ all  disease  in  men  and  in  cattle  is  attributed  to  one 
or  two  causes,  the  wrath  of  some  evil  spirit  who  has  to  be 
appeased,  or  the  spell  of  some  witch  or  sorcerer 3 the  Cir- 
cassians and  some  of  the  Chinese  have  also  the  same  belief.4 

Hence  it  is  that  mad  people  are  in  many  countries 
looked  on  with  so  much  reverence,  since  they  are  looked 
on  as  the  special  abode  of  some  Deity.  Savages  who 
believe  that  diseases  are  owing  to  magic,  naturally  con- 
clude that  death  is  so  too.  Far  from  having  realised  to 
themselves  the  idea  of  a future  life,  they  have  not  even 
learnt  that  death  is  the  natural  end  of  this.  We  find  a 
very  general  conviction  among  savages  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  natural  death,  and  that  when  a man  dies  without 
being  wounded,  he  must  be  the  victim  of  magic. 

Thus,  Mr.  Lang,5  speaking  of  the  Australians,  says,  that 
whenever  a native  dies,  6 no  matter  how  evident  it  may  be 

1 Mouhot’s  Travels  in  the  Central  4 Klemm,  Aleg.  Cult.  d.  Menschen. 
Parts  of  Indo-China,  vol.  i.  p.  250.  vol.  iv.  p.  36. 

2 Lichtenstein,  vol.  ii.  p.  2 55.  5 Lecture  on  the  Aborigines  of  Aus- 

8 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  1868,  p.  tralia,  p.  14.  See  also  Oldfield,  Trans. 

30  ; 1870,  p.  21.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  iii.  p.  236. 


EXISTENCE  OF  NATURAL  DEATH. 


133 


that  death  has  been  the  result  of  natural  causes,  it  is  at 
once  set  down  that  the  defunct  was  bewitched  by  the 
sorcerers  of  some  neighbouring  tribe.5  Among  the  natives 
of  Southern  Africa  no  one  is  supposed  to  die  naturally.1 
The  Bechuanas,  says  Philip,  ‘ and  all  the  Kaffir  tribes,  have 
no  idea  of  any  man  dying  except  from  hunger,  violence, 
or  witchcraft.  If  a man  die  even  at  the  age  of  ninety,  if 
he  do  not  die  of  hunger  or  by  violence,  his  death  is  im- 
puted to  sorcery  or  to  witchcraft,  and  blood  is  required 
to  expiate  or  avenge  it.5  2 So  also  Battel  tells  us  that 
‘none  on  any  account  dieth,  but  that  some  other  has 
bewitched  them  to  death.5  3 Dobritzhoffer 4 tells  us  that, 

‘ If  an  Abipon  die  from  being  pierced  with  many  wounds, 
or  from  having  his  bones  broken,  or  his  strength  exhausted 
by  extreme  old  age,  his  countrymen  all  deny  that  wounds 
or  weakness  occasioned  his  death,  and  anxiously  try  to 
discover  by  which  of  the  jugglers,  and  for  what  reason,  he 
was  killed.5  Stevenson 5 states  that  in  South  America, 
* The  Indians  never  believe  that  death  is  owing  to  natural 
causes,  but  that  it  is  the  effect  of  sorcery  and  witchcraft. 
Thus  on  the  death  of  an  individual  one  or  more  diviners  are 
consulted,  who  generally  name  the  enchanter,  and  are  so 
implicitly  believed,  that  the  unfortunate  object  of  their 
caprice  or  malice  is  certain  to  fall  a sacrifice.5  Wallace6 
found  the  same  idea  among  the  tribes  of  the  Amazons ; 
Muller 7 mentions  it  as  prevalent  among  the  Bacotahs ; 
Hearne  8 among  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Indians. 

But  though  spirits  are  naturally  much  to  be  dreaded  on 
various  accounts,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  they  should  be 

1 Chapman’s  Travels  in  Africa,  vol.  4 Log.  cit . vol.  ii.  p.  84. 

i.  p.  47.  5 Travels  in  South  America,  vol.  i. 

2 Philip’s  South  Africa,  vol.  i.  p.  1 18.  p.  60. 

3 Adventures  of  Andrew  Battel,  Pin-  6 Loc.  cit.  p.  500. 

kerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  334.  See  also  Astley,  7 Amer.  Urreligionen,  p.  82. 

vol.  ii.  p.  300.  8 Loc.  cit.  p.  338. 


134 


LOW  IDEAS  OF  SPIRITS 


conceived  as  necessarily  wiser  or  more  powerful  than  men. 
Of  this  our  table-turners  and  spirit-rappers  give  a modern 
illustration.  The  natives  of  the  Nicobar  Islands  were  in 
the  habit  of  putting  up  scarecrows  to  frighten  the  c Eewees 5 
away  from  their  villages.1  The  inhabitants  of  Kamt- 
schatka,  according  to  Kotzebue,2  insult  their  deities  if 
their  wishes  are  unfulfilled.  They  even  feel  a contempt 
for  them.  If  Kutka,  they  say,  had  not  been  so  stupid, 
would  he  have  made  inaccessible  rocks,  and  too  rapid 
rivers?3  The  Lapps,  according  to  Klemm,  made  idols 
for  their  deities,  and  placed  each  in  a separate  box,  on 
which  they  indicated  the  name  of  the  deity,  so  that 
each  might  know  its  own  box.4 5 

Vancouver 5 mentions  that  the  inhabitants  of  Owhyhee. 
were  seriously  offended  with  their  deity  for  permitting 
the  death  of  a popular  young  chief  named  Whokaa.  Yate 
observes6  that  the  New  Zealanders,  attributing  certain 
diseases  to  the  attacks  of  the  Atua,  endeavour  either  to 
propitiate  or  drive  him  away ; in  the  latter  case  6 they 
make  use  of  the  most  threatening  and  outrageous  language; 
sometimes  telling  their  deity  that  they  will  kill  and  eat 
him.5 

The  negro  of  Guinea  beats  his  Fetish  if  his  wishes  are 
not  complied  with,  and  hides  him  in  his  waist-cloth  if 
about  to  do  anything  of  which  he  is  ashamed,  so  that  the 
Fetish  may  not  be  able  to  see  what  is  going  on.7 

During  a storm  the  Bechuanas  cursed  the  deity  for 
sending  thunder;8  and  the  Namaquas  shot  poisoned 

1 Voyage  of  the  Novara,  vol.  ii.  p.  6 Account  of  New  Zealand,  p.  141. 

66.  D’Urville’s  Voyage  de  1’ Astrolabe,  vol. 

2 Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  13.  iii.  pp.  245,  440,  470. 

9 Klemm,  Cult.  d.  Menschen,  vol.  ii.  7 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol. 
p.  318.  ii.  p.  668. 

4 Loc.  cit.  vol.  iii.  p.  81.  8 Chapman’s  Travels  in  Africa,  vol. 

5 Voyage  of  Discovery,  vol.  iii.  p.  14.  i.  p.  45. 


ENTEETAINED  BY  SAVAGES. 


135 


arrows  at  storms  to  drive  them  away.1  When  the  Basnto 
(Kaffir)  is  on  a marauding  expedition,  he  ‘ gives  utterance 
to  those  cries  and  hisses  in  which  cattle  drivers  indulge 
when  they  drive  a herd  before  them;  thinking  in  this 
manner  to  persuade  the  poor  divinities  (of  the  country 
they  are  attacking)  that  he  is  bringing  cattle  to  their  wor- 
shippers, instead  of  coming  to  take  it  from  them.52 

According  to  Thomson,3  the  natives  of  Cambodia  as- 
sumed that  the  Deity  did  not  understand  foreign  languages. 
Franklin 4 says  that  the  Cree  Indians  treat  their  Deity, 
whom  they  call  Kepoochikawn,  ‘with  considerable  fa- 
miliarity, interlarding  their  most  solemn  speeches  with 
expostulations  and  threats  of  neglect  if  he  fails  in  com- 
plying with  their  requests/ 

The  North  Australian  native 5 will  not  go  near  graves 
‘ at  night  by  himself ; but  when  they  are  obliged  to  pass 
them  they  carry  a fire-stick  to  keep  off  the  spirit  of  dark- 
ness/ 

The  Kyoungtha  of  Chittagong  are  Buddhists.  Their 
village  temples  contain  a small  stand  of  bells  and  an 
image  of  Boodh,  which  the  villagers  generally  worship 
morning  and  evening,  ‘first  ringing  the  bells  to  let  him 
know  that  they  are  there/6  The  Sinto  temples  of  the 
Sun  Goddess  in  Japan  also  contain  a bell,  ‘ intended  to 
arouse  the  goddess  and  to  awaken  her  attention  to  the 
prayers  of  her  worshippers/  7 

According  to  the  Brahmans,8  ‘two  things  are  indispen- 
sably necessary  to  the  sacrificer  in  performing  the  cere- 
mony : several  lighted  lamps,  and  a bell/ 

The  Tartars  of  the  Altai  picture  to  themselves  the  Deity 

1 Wood’s  Natural  History  of  Man,  5 Keppel’s  Visit  to  the  Indian  Arcki- 

vol.  i.  p.  307.  pelago,  vol.  ii.  p.  182. 

2 Casalis’  Basutos,  p.  253.  6 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong, 

3 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  250.  p.  39. 

4 Visit  to  the  Polar  Seas,  vol.  iv.  7 Smith’s  Ten  Weeks  in  Japan,  p.  49. 

p.  146.  8 Dubois,  The  People  of  India,  p.  400. 


136  THEIR  LOW  CONCEPTION  OF  THEIR  DEITIES 

as  an  old  man,  with  a long  beard,  and  dressed  in  the  uni- 
form of  a Eussian  officer  of  Dragoons.1 

Even  the  Greeks  and  Eomans  believed  stories  very 
derogatory  not  only  to  the  moral  character,  but  to  the 
intellect  and  power,  of  their  deities.  Thus  they  were 
liable  to  defeat  from  mortals : Mars,  though  the  God  of 
War,  was  wounded  by  Diomede  and  fled  away  howling 
with  pain.  They  had  little  or  no  power  over  the  elements, 
they  had  no  foreknowledge,  and  were  both  morally  and 
mentally  often  represented  as  inferior  to  men.  Even  Homer 
does  not  seem  to  have  embraced  the  idea  of  Omnipotence.2 
In  fact,  it  may  truly  be  said  that  the  savage  has  a much 
greater  respect  for  his  chief  than  for  his  god.3 

This  low  estimate  of  spirits  is  shown  in  a very  striking 
manner  by  the  behaviour  of  savages  during  eclipses.  All 
over  the  world  we  find  races  of  men  who  believe  that  the  sun 
and  moon  are  alive,  and  who  consider  that  during  eclipses 
they  are  either  quarrelling  with  each  other  or  attacked  by 
the  evil  spirits  of  the  air.  Hence  it  naturally  follows, 
although  to  us  it  seems  absurd,  that  the  savage  endeavours 
to  assist  the  sun  or  moon.  The  Greenlanders  4 regard  the 
sun  and  moon  as  sister  and  brother ; the  former  being  the 
female,  and  being  constantly  pursued  by  the  latter.  During 
an  eclipse  they  think  the  moon  6 goes  about  among  the 
houses  to  pilfer  their  skins  and  eatables,  and  even  to  kill 
those  people  that  have  not  duly  observed  the  rules  of 
abstinence.  At  such  times  they  hide  away  everything, 
and  the  men  carry  chests  and  kettles  on  the  top  of  the 
house,  and  rattle  and  beat  upon  them  to  frighten  away 
the  moon,  and  make  him  return  to  his  place.  At  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  the  women  pinch  the  dogs  by  the  ears ; 

1 Klemm,  Cult.  d.  Mens.  vol.  iii.  3 See  Burton’s  Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p. 

p.  86.  180.  Dubois,  loc.  cit.  pp.  304,  430. 

2 Gladstone’s  Juventus  Mundi,  pp.  4 Crantz,  yol.  i.  p.  232. 

198,  228. 


AS  EVIDENCED  BY  THEIR  BEHAVIOUR  DURING  ECLIPSES.  137 

if  they  cry,  5tis  a sure  sign  that  the  end  of  the  world  is 
not  yet  come.5  The  Caribs,  says  Lafitau,  accounted  for 
eclipses  by  supposing  either  that  the  moon  was  ill,  or 
that  she  was  attacked  by  enemies ; these  they  endeavoured 
to  drive  away  by  dances,  by  cries,  and  by  the  sacred 
rattle.1  The  Chiquito  Indians,2  according  to  Dobritzhoffer, 
think  that  the  sun  and  moon  during  eclipses  are  e cruelly 
torn  by  dogs,  with  which  they  think  that  the  air  abounds, 
when  they  see  their  light  fail ; attributing  their  blood-red 
colour  to  the  bites  of  these  animals.  Accordingly,  to 
defend  their  dear  planets  from  those  aerial  mastiffs,  they 
send  a shower  of  arrows  up  into  the  sky,  amid  loud 
vociferations,  at  the  time  of  the  eclipse.5  When  the 
Guaycurus,  says  Charlevoix,  ‘ think  themselves  threatened 
with  a storm,  they  sally  out  of  their  towns,  the  men  armed 
with  their  mancanas,  and  the  women  and  children  howling 
with  all  their  might ; for  they  believe  that,  by  so  doing, 
they  put  to  flight  the  devil  that  intended  to  excite  it.5  3 
The  ancient  Peruvians,  also,  used  to  beat  their  dogs  during 
eclipses,  in  order,  apparently,  that  by  their  howlings  they 
might  frighten  away  the  evil  spirits.4  The  Chinese  of 
Kiatka  thought  that  eclipses  were  caused  by  the  evil 
spirit  placing  his  hand  on  the  moon,  in  whose  defence 
they  immediately  made  as  much  noise  as  possible.5  The 
Stiens  of  Cambodia,6  like  the  Cambodians  themselves, 
account  for  eclipses  by  the  hypothesis  ‘ that  some  being 
has  swallowed  up  the  sun  and  the  moon ; and,  in  order  to  # 
deliver  them,  they  made  a frightful  noise,  beat  the  tam- 
tam, uttered  savage  cries,  and  shot  arrows  into  the  air, 
until  the  sun  reappeared.5 

1 Lafitau,  vol.  i.  pp.  248, 252.  Tertre,  * Martius,  loc.  cit.  p.  32. 

History  of  the  Caribby  Islands,  p.  272.  5 Pallas,  vol.  iv.  p.  220. 

2 Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  84.  6 Mouhot’s  Travels  in  Indo-China* 

3 History  of  Paraguay,  vol.  i.  p.  92.  vol.  i.  p.  253. 

See  also  p.  203. 


13S 


BELIEF  IN  GHOSTS. 


During  an  eclipse  the  Sumatrans1  also  ‘make  a loud 
noise  with  sounding  instruments,  to  prevent  one  luminary 
from  devouring  the  other,  as  the  Chinese,  to  frighten 
away  the  dragon ; a superstition  that  has  its  source  in 
the  ancient  systems  of  astronomy  (particularly  the  Hindu), 
where  the  nodes  of  the  moon  are  identified  with  the 
dragon’s  head  and  tail.  They  tell  of  a man  in  the  moon 
who  is  continually  employed  in  spinning  cotton,  but  that 
every  night  a rat  gnaws  his  thread,  and  obliges  him  to 
begin  his  work  afresh.’ 

‘In  Eastern  Africa,’  Speke 2 mentions  that  on  one 
occasion,  ‘as  there  was  a partial  eclipse  of  the  mpon,  all 
the  Wanguana  marched  up  and  down  from  Rumanika’s 
to  Nnanagi’s  huts,  singing  and  beating  our  tin  cooking- 
pots  to  frighten  off  the  spirit  of  the  sun  from  consuming 
entirely  the  chief  object  of  reverence,  the  moon.’  Lander 3 
mentions  that  at  Boussa,  in  Central  Africa,  an  eclipse 
was  attributed  to  an  attack  made  by  the  sun  on  the 
moon.  During  the  whole  time  the  eclipse  lasted  the 
natives  made  as  much  noise  as  possible,  ‘ in  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  frighten  away  the  sun  to  his  proper  sphere, 
and  leave  the  moon  to  enlighten  the  world  as  at  other 
times.’ 

One  of  the  difficulties  in  arriving  at  any  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  religious  system  of  the  lower  races  arises  from 
a confusion  between  a belief  in  ghosts  and  that  in  an  im- 
mortal spirit.  Yet  the  two  are  essentially  distinct ; and 
the  spirit  is  not  necessarily  regarded  as  immortal  because 
it  does  not  perish  with  the  body.  The  negroes,  for  instance, 
says  one  of  our  keenest  observers,  Captain  Burton,  ‘ believe 
in  a ghost,  but  not  in  spirit ; in  a present  immaterial,  but 
not  in  a future.’ 4 

1 Marsden’s  History  of  Sumatra,  p.  3 R.  and  I.  Lander’s  Niger  Expedi- 

194.  tion,  vol.  ii.  pp.  180,  183. 

2 Speke,  p.  243.  4 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.N.S.  vol.  i.  p.  323 


ABSENCE  OP  BELIEF  IN  FUTURE  LIFE. 


139 


Counting  on  nothing  after  the  present  life,  there  is  for 
them  no  hope  beyond  the  grave.  They  wail  and  sorrow 
with  a burden  of  despair.  ‘ Amekwisha  5 ‘ he  is  finished  ’ 
— is  the  East  African’s  last  word  concerning  parent  or 
friend.  ‘All  is  done  for  ever/  sing  the  West  Africans. 
The  least  allusion  to  loss  of  life  makes  their  black  skins 
pale.  ‘ Ah/  they  exclaim,  ‘ it  is  bad  to  die  ; to  leave  house 
and  home,  wife  and  children ; no  more  to  wear  soft  cloth, 
nor  eat  meat,  nor  smoke  tobacco.’ 1 

The  Hudson’s  Bay  Indians,  according  to  Hearne,2  a 
good  observer  and  one  who  had  ample  means  of  judging, 
had  no  idea  of  any  life  after  death. 

In  other  cases,  the  spirit  is  supposed  to  survive  the 
body  for  a certain  time,  and  to  linger  about  its  old  abode. 

Ask  the  negro,  says  M.  Du  Chaillu,3  c where  is  the 
spirit  of  his  great-grandfather,  he  says  he  does  not  know ; 
it  is  done.  Ask  him  about  the  spirit  of  his  father  or 
brother  who  died  yesterday,  then  he  is  full  of  fear  and 
terror ; he  believes  it  to  be  generally  near  the  place  where 
the  body  has  been  buried,  and  among  many  tribes  the 
village  is  removed  immediately  after  the  death  of  one  of 
the  inhabitants.’  The  same  belief  prevails  among  the 
Amazulu  Kaffirs,  as  has  been  well  shown  by  Mr.  Callaway.4 
They  believe  that  the  spirits  of  their  deceased  fathers 
and  brothers  still  live,  because  they  appear  in  dreams ; by 
inverse  reasoning,  however,  grandfathers  are  generally 
regarded  as  having  ceased  to  exist. 

Bosman  mentions  that  on  the  Guinea  Coast,  when  ‘ any 
considerable  person  dies,  they  perplex  one  another  with 
horrid  fears,  proceeding  from  an  opinion  that  he  appears 
for  several  nights  successively  near  his  late  dwelling.’5 

1 Burton,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  309. 

p.323.  4 The  Religious  System  of  the  Ama- 

2 Loc.  cit . p.  344.  zulu,  1869. 

8 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  i.  p.  5 Bosman,  loc.  cit.  p.  402. 


140  FUTURE  LIFE  DEPENDENT  ON  MODE  OF  DEATH. 

Thus  it  seems  that  the  power  of  a ghost  after  death  bears 
some  relation  to  that  which  the  man  possessed  when  alive. 
Other  negroes  think  that  after  death  they  become  white 
men1 2 — a curious  idea,  which  also  occurs  in  Australia. 
Among  the  Tipperahs  of  Chittagong,  if  a man  dies  away 
from  home,  his  relatives  stretch  a thread  over  all  the 
intermediate  streams,  so  that  the  spirit  of  the  dead  man 
may  return  to  his  own  village ; it  being  supposed  that 
‘ without  assistance  spirits  are  unable  to  cross  running 
water;  therefore  the  stream  here  had  been  bridged  in 
the  manner  aforesaid.5  2 We  know  that  a somewhat 
similar  idea  existed  in  Europe,  and  it  occurs  also,  as  we 
shall  see  (p.  145),  in  the  Fegee  Islands. 

Again,  some  modes  of  death  are  supposed  to  kill  not 
only  the  body  but  the  spirit  also.  Thus  a Bushman 
who  was  a magician,  having  put  to  death  a woman,  dashed 
the  head  of  the  corpse  to  pieces  with  large  stones,  buried 
her,  and  made  a large  fire  over  the  grave,  for  fear,  as 
he  explained  to  Lichtenstein,  lest  she  should  rise  again 
and  c trouble  him.5  3 Even  the  New  Zealanders  believed 
that  a man  who  was  eaten  was  destroyed  both  body  and 
spirit.  The  same  idea  evidently  influenced  the  Californian 
who,  as  recorded  by  Mr.  Gibbs,  did  not  dispute  the  immor- 
tality of  the  whites  who  buried  their  dead,  but  could  not 
believe  the  same  of  his  own  people  because  they  were  in 
the  habit  of  burning  them.4 

In  these  cases  it  will  be  observed  that  the  existence  of 
the  ghost  depends  upon  the  manner  of  death.  This  is  no 
doubt  absurd,  but  it  is  not  illogical.  The  savage’s  idea  of 
a spirit  is  something  ethereal  indeed,  but  not  altogether 
immaterial,  and  consequently  it  may  be  injured  by  violence. 

1 Loc.cit.  p.  401.  3 Lichenstein,  vol.  ii.  p.  61. 

2 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  4 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  Pt» 

p.  84.  HI.  p.  107. 


BELIEF  IN  THE  PLURALITY  OF  SOULS.  141 

Some  races  believe  in  gliosts  of  the  living  as  well  as  of  the 
dead.  For  instance,  the  Fijians 1 believe  ‘ that  the  spirit 
of  a man  who  still  lives  will  leave  the  body  to  trouble 
other  people  when  asleep.  When  anyone  faints  or  dies, 
their  spirit,  it  is  said,  may  sometimes  be  brought  back  by 
calling  after  it. 

Even  when  the  ideas  of  a soul  and  of  future  life  are  more 
developed,  they  are  far  from  always  taking  the  direction  of 
our  beliefs. 

Thus  the  Caribs  and  Redskins  believe  that  a man  has 
more  than  one  soul ; to  this  they  are  probably  led  by  the 
pulsation  of  the  heart  and  the  arteries,  which  they  regard 
as  evidences  of  independent  life.  Thus  also  they  account 
for  inconsistencies  of  behaviour. 

The  belief  in  ghosts,  then,  is  essentially  different  from  our 
notions  of  a future  life.  Ghosts  are  mortal,  they  haunt 
burial-grounds  and  hover  round  their  own  graves.  Even 
when  a higher  stage  has  been  gained,  the  place  of 
departed  souls  is  not  a heaven,  but  merely  a better 
earth. 

Divination  and  sorcery  are  very  widely  distributed. 
Their  characteristics  are  so  well  known  and  so  similar  all 
over  the  world,  that  I shall  only  give  a few  suggestive 
illustrations. 

Whipple2  thus  describes  a scene  of  divination  among 
the  Cherokees.  The  priest  having  concluded  an  eloquent 
address,  took  ‘ a curiously  wrought  bowl,  alleged  to  be  of 
great  antiquity ; he  filled  it  with  water  and  placed  the 
black  substance  within,  causing  it  to  move  from  one  side  to 
the  other,  and  from  bottom  to  top,  by  a word.  Alluding, 
then,  to  danger  and  foes,  the  enchanted  mineral  fled  from 
the  point  of  his  knife  ; but  as  he  began  to  speak  of  peace 

1 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p. 

242. 


2 Report  on  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  35. 


142 


DIVINATION. 


and  security,  it  turned  toward  and  clung  to  it,  till  lifted 
entirely  from  the  water.  The  priest  finally  interpreted 
the  omen  by  informing  the  people  that  peace  was  in  the 
ascendant,  no  enemy  being  near.’ 

In  West  Africa  1 they  have  a mode  of  divination  with 
nuts,  ‘ which  they  pretend  to  take  up  by  guess,  and  let  fall 
again ; after  which  they  tell  them,  and  form  their  answers 
according  as  the  numbers  are  even  or  odd.’  The  negroes 
of  Egba2  consult  Shango  by  6 throwing  sixteen  pierced 
cowries : if  eight  fall  upwards  and  eight  downwards,  it 
is  peace ; if  all  are  upwards,  it  is  also  a good  sign ; and 
vice  versa , if  all  fall  with  their  teeth  to  the  ground,  it  is 
war.’ 

The  Lapps  have  a curious  mode  of  divination.  They 
put  a shoulder-blade  in  the  fire,  and  then  foretell  the 
future  by  the  arrangement  of  the  cracks  (figs.  15-17). 
The  same  custom  exists  among  the  Mongols3  and  Tun- 
guses  of  Siberia,4  and  the  Bedouins.  The  lines  vary 
of  course  greatly,  still  there  are  certain  principal  cracks 
which  usually  occur.  The  following  figures  of  Kalmuck 
specimens  are  copied  from  Klemm,  who  explains,  after 
Pallas,  the  meaning  of  the  various  lines.  The  Chipewyans 
of  North  America  also  make  their  magic  drawings  on 
shoulder-blades,  which  they  then  throw  into  the  fire.5 
Williams6  describes  various  modes  of  divination  practised 
in  Fiji. 

In  New  Zealand,  before  a warlike  expedition  is  under- 
taken, sticks  are  sometimes  stuck  up  in  the  ground  in  two 
rows,  one  of  which  denotes  their  own  party,  the  other  that 
of  the  enemy.  If  the  wind  blows  the  enemy’s  sticks 

1 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  4 Ibid.  p.  109. 

vol.  ii.  p.  674.  5 Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  192. 

2 Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  188.  6 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol,  i.  p. 

3 Klemm,  Cult,  der  Mens.,  vol.  iii.  228.  See  also  Mariner’s  Tonga 

p.  199.  Islands,  vol.  ii.  p.  239. 


DIVINATION. 


143 


backwards,  they  will  be  defeated ; if  forwards,  they  will  be 
victorious ; if  obliquely,  the  expedition  will  be  indecisive. 
The  same  criterion  is  applied  to  their  own  sticks.1 

This  is  a case  of  divination,  but  from  it  to  sorcery  is  a 
short  and  obvious  step.  When  once  it  is  granted  that  the 
fall  of  a stick  certainly  preludes  that  of  the  person  it 


Fig.  15. 


shoulder-blades  prepared  FOR  diyination.  (Klemm,  Culturg.  der  Menscheit, 

vol.  iii.  p.  200.) 

represents,  it  follows  that  by  upsetting  the  stick,  his  death 
can  he  caused. 

We  find  a very  similar  idea  in  the  western  Highlands 
of  Scotland.  In  the  ‘ Sea  Maiden  ’ a mermaid  appears 
to  a fisherman,  and  gives  him  three  seeds,  which  are  to 
produce  three  trees,  which  ‘ will  he  a sign,  when  one  of 

1 Yates  New  Zealand,  p.  91. 


144 


SORCERY. 


the  sons  dies,  one  of  the  trees  will  wither  and  this 
accordingly  took  place.1 

A supposed  prophet  of  the  Shawneese  (North  America) 
sent  word  to  Tanner  that  the  fire  in  his  lodge  was  inti- 
mately connected  with  his  life.  ‘ Henceforth/  said  he, 
‘ the  fire  must  never  be  suffered  to  go  out  in  your  lodge. 
Summer  and  winter,  day  and  night,  in  the  storm,  or  when 
it  is  calm,  you  must  remember  that  the  life  in  your  body 
and  the  fire  in  your  lodge  are  the  same.  If  you  suffer 
your  fire  to  be  extinguished,  at  that  moment  your  life  will 
be  at  an  end.’ 2 

Father  Merolla  mentions  a case  in  which  a Congo 
(negro)  witch  tried  to  destroy  him.  With  this  object 
she  dug  a hole  in  the  ground,  and  I resolved,  says 
the  worthy  Father,3  ‘not  to  stand  long  in  one  place, 
thereby  to  avoid  the  design  she  had  upon  me  to  bewitch 
me  to  death,  that  having  been  the  reason  of  her  making  a 
hole  in  the  earth.  It  seems  their  custom  is,  that  when 
they  have  a mind  to  bewitch  anyone  mortally,  they  put  a 
certain  herb  or  plant  into  the  hole  they  have  so  dug; 
which,  as  it  perishes  or  decays,  so  the  vigour  and  spirits 
of  the  person  they  have  a design  upon  will  fail  and  decay.5 
In  Fiji 4 ‘ one  mode  of  operating  is  to  bury  a cocoa-nut, 
with  the  eye  upwards,  beneath  the  temple-hearth,  on 
which  a fire  is  kept  constantly  burning ; and  as  the  life  of 
the  nut  is  destroyed,  so  the  health  of  the  person  it  repre- 
sents will  fail,  till  death  ensues.  At  Matuku  there  is  a 
grove  sacred  to  the  god  Tokalau,  the  wind.  The  priest 
promises  the  destruction  of  any  hated  person  in  four  days 
if  those  who  wish  his  death  bring  a portion  of  his  hair, 
dress,  or  food  which  he  has  left.  This  priest  keeps  a fire 
burning,  and  approaches  the  place  on  his  hands  and  knees. 

1 Campbell’s  Tales  of  the  "West  3 Pinkerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  290. 

Highlands,  vol.  i.  p.  71.  4 Fiji  and  the  Pijians,  vol.  i.  p. 

2 Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  156.  248. 


SORCERY. 


145 


If  tlie  victim  bathe  before  the  fourth  day,  the  spell  is  broken. 
The  most  common  method,  however,  is  the  Yakadranikau, 
or  compounding  of  certain  leaves  supposed  to  possess  a 
magical  power,  and  which  are  wrapped  in  other  leaves,  or 
put  into  a small  bamboo  case,  and  buried  in  the  garden  of 
the  person  to  be  bewitched,  or  hidden  in  the  thatch  of 
his  house.  The  native  imagination  is  so  absolutely  under 
the  control  of  the  fear  of  these  charms,  that  persons, 
hearing  that  they  were  the  objects  of  such  spells,  have 
lain  down  on  their  mats,  and  died  through  fear.  Those 
who  have  reason  to  suspect  others  of  plotting  against 
them,  avoid  eating  in  their  presence,  or  are  careful  to 
leave  no  fragment  of  food  behind ; they  also  dispose  their 
garments  so  that  no  part  can  be  removed.  Most  natives 
on  cutting  their  hair  hide  what  is  cut  off  in  the  thatch  of 
their  own  houses.  Some  build  themselves  a small  house, 
and  surround  it  with  a moat,  believing  that  a little  water 
will  neutralise  the  charms  which  are  directed  against 
them/  In  North  America,  to  ensure  a successful  war, 
courtship,  or  hunt,  the  Indians  make  a rude  drawing,  or 
a little  image  to  represent  the  man,  woman,  or  animal ; 
then  medicine  is  applied  to  it,  or,  if  the  design  is  to  cause 
death,  the  heart  is  pierced.1  In  India  also  the  magicians 
make  small  figures  of  mud,  on  the  breasts  of  which  they 
write  the  names  of  those  whom  they  wish  to  annoy.  They 
then  ‘ pierce  the  images  with  thorns,  or  mutilate  them,  so 
as  to  communicate  a corresponding  injury  to  the  person 
represented/  2 

In  other  cases,  the  possession  of  a person’s  name  is  suffi- 
cient, and  indeed,  all  over  the  world  we  find  more  or  less 
confusion  between  a thing  or  a person,  and  its  or  his  name. 
Hence  the  importance  attached  among  the  North  American 


1 Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  174. 


2 Dubois,  The  People  of  India,  p.  347. 


146  CONFUSION  OF  NAME  AND  THING. 

Indians  and  South  Sea  Islanders  to  an  exchange  of  names. 
Hence,  as  already  mentioned,  we  often  find  a person’s 
real  name  concealed,  lest  a knowledge  of  it  should  give 
a power  over  the  person.  Even  the  Romans  when  they 
besieged  a town,  had  a curious  ceremony  founded  on  the 
same  idea.  They  invoked  the  tutelar  deity  of  the  city, 
and  tempted  him  by  the  offer  of  rewards  and  sacrifices 
6 to  betray  his  friends  and  votaries.  In  that  ceremony 
the  name  of  the  tutelar  deity  was  thought  of  importance, 
and  for  that  reason  the  tutelar  deity  of  Rome  was  a pro- 
found secret.’ 1 

Sumatra  gives  us  a curious  instance  of  long  survival  of 
this  idea  in  a somewhat  advanced  community.  6 A Suma- 
tran2 ever  scrupulously  abstains  from  pronouncing  his  own 
name ; not,  as  I understand,  from  any  motive  of  super- 
stition, but  merely  as  a punctilio  in  manners.  It  occasions 
him  infinite  embarrassment  when  a stranger,  unacquainted 
with  their  customs,  requires  it  of  him.  As  soon  as  he 
recovers  from  his  confusion,  he  solicits  the  interposition 
of  his  neighbour.  He  is  never  addressed,  except  in 
the  case  of  a superior  dictating  to  his  dependant,  in  the 
second  person,  but  always  in  the  third ; using  his  name 
or  title  instead  of  the  pronoun;  and  when  these  are  un- 
known, a general  title  of  respect  is  substituted,  and  they 
say,  for  instance,  “ apa  orang  kaya  punia  suka,”  ee  what  is 
his  honour’s  pleasure,”  for  “ what  is  your,  or  your  honour’s 
pleasure.”  When  criminals  or  other  ignominious  persons 
are  spoken  to,  use  is  made  of  the  pronoun  personal  kau 
(a  contraction  of  angkau),  particularly  expressive  of  con- 
tempt.5 

Generally,  however,  it  was  considered  indispensable 
that  the  sorcerer  should  possess  ‘ something  connected 

1 Lord  Karnes’  History  of  Man,  vol.  2 Marsden’s  History  of  Sumatra, 

\v.  p.  226.  p.  286. 


CONFUSION  OF  PAST  AND  WHOLE.  147 

with  the  body  of  the  object  of  vengeance.  The  parings  of 
the  nails,  a lock  of  the  hair,  the  saliva  from  the  mouth,  or 
other  secretions  from  the  body,  or  else  a portion  of  the  food 
which  the  person  was  to  eat.  This  was  considered  as  the 
vehicle  by  which  the  demon  entered  the  person,  who  after- 
wards became  possessed.  It  was  called  the  tubu,  growing 
or  causing  to  grow.  When  procured,  the  tara  was  per- 
formed ; the  sorcerer  took  the  hair,  saliva,  or  other  sub- 
stance that  had  belonged  to  his  victim,  to  his  house,  or 
marae,  performed  his  incantations  over  it,  and  offered  his 
prayers ; the  demon  was  then  supposed  to  enter  the  tubu, 
and  through  it  the  individual,  who  afterwards  became 
possessed.51 

In  New  Zealand1 2  also  the  sorcerers  ‘ use  the  saliva  of  the 
people  whom  they  intend  to  bewitch ; and  visitors  care- 
fully conceal  their  spittle,  to  give  them  no  opportunity  of 
working  their  evil.5  Tylor3  also  says  that  a ‘ person  who 
wished  to  bewitch  another,  sought  to  obtain  something' 
belonging  to  him — a lock  of  hair,  a portion  of  his  garment, 
or  even  some  of  his  food ; this  being  possessed,  he  uttered 
certain  karakias  over  it,  and  then  buried  it  ; as  the 
article  decayed,  the  individual  also  was  supposed  to 
waste  away.  This  was  sure  to  be  the  case  if  the 
victim  heard  of  it ; fear  quickly  accomplishing  his  enemy’s 
wish.  The  person  who  bewitched  another,  remained 
three  days  without  eating ; on  the  fourth  he  ate,  and  his 
victim  died.5 

So  also  Seemann4  tells  us  that  ‘ if  a Fijian  wishes  to 
cause  the  destruction  of  an  individual  by  other  means  than 
open  violence  or  secret  poison,  the  case  is  put  in  the  hands 
of  one  of  these  sorcerers,  care  being  taken  to  let  this  fact 

1 Williams’  Polynesian  Researches,  9 New  Zealand  and  its  Inhabitants, 

vol.  ii.  p.  228.  pp.  89,  167. 

* Dieffenbach,  vol.  ii.  p.  69.  4 A Mission  to  Yiti,  p.  189. 


L48 


SIMILARITY  OF  WITCHCRAFT 


be  generally  and  widely  known.  The  sorcerer  now  pro- 
ceeds to  obtain  any  article  that  has  once  been  in  the 
possession  of  the  person  to  be  operated  npon.  These 
articles  are  then  burnt  with  certain  leaves,  and  if  the 
reputation  of  the  sorcerer  be  sufficiently  powerful,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  the  nervous  fears  of  the  individual  to  be 
punished  will  bring  on  disease,  if  not  death : a similar 
process  is  applied  to  discover  thieves.5 

Sir  G.  Grey  thus  describes  a scene  of  witchcraft  in  New 
Zealand  : 6 The  priests  1 then  dug  a long  pit,  termed  the  pit 
of  wrath,  into  which  by  their  long  enchantments  they 
might  bring  the  spirits  of  their  enemies,  and  hang  them 
and  destroy  them  there  ; and  when  they  had  dug  the  pit, 
muttering  the  necessary  incantations,  they  took  large 
shells  in  their  hands  to  scrape  the  spirits  of  their  enemies 
into  the  pit  with,  whilst  they  muttered  enchantments  ; 
and  when  they  had  done  this  they  scraped  the  earth  into 
the  pit  again  to  cover  them  up,  and  beat  down  the  earth 
with  their  hands,  and  crossed  the  pit  with  enchanted 
cloths,  and  wove  baskets  of  flax-leaves  to  hold  the  spirits 
of  the  foes  which  they  had  thus  destroyed,  and  each  of 
these  acts  they  accompanied  with  proper  spells.5 

In  North  America,  also,  c a hair  from  the  head  of  the 
victim 5 is  supposed  to  increase  greatly  the  efficacy  of 
charms. 

We  cannot  wonder  that  savages  believe  in  witchcraft, 
since  even  the  most  civilised  races  have  not  long,  nor 
entirely,  ceased  to  do  so. 

Like  our  spirit-rappers  and  table-turners,  the  Chinese 
magicians,2  though  they  have  never  seen  the  person  who 
consults  them,  they  tell  his  name,  and  all  the  circum- 
stances of  his  family ; in  what  manner  his  house  is  situated, 

1 Polynesian  Mythology,  p.  168. 

2 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  205. 


m VARIOUS  PARTS  OF  THE  WORLD.  149 

liow  many  children  lie  has,  their  names  and  age ; with  a 
hundred  other  particulars,  which  may  be  naturally  enough 
supposed  known  to  the  demons,  and  are  strangely  sur- 
prising to  weak  and  credulous  minds  among  the  vulgar. 

6 Some  of  these  conjurers,  after  invoking  the  demons, 
cause  the  figures  of  the  chief  of  their  sect,  and  of  their 
idols,  to  appear  in  the  air.  Formerly  they  could  make  a 
pencil  write  of  itself,  without  anybody  touching  it,  upon 
paper  or  sand,  the  answers  to  questions.  They  likewise 
cause  all  people  of  any  house  to  pass  in  review  in  a large 
vessel  of  water ; wherein  they  also  show  the  changes  that 
shall  happen  in  the  empire,  and  the  imaginary  dignities 
to  which  those  shall  be  advanced  who  embrace  their  sect. 

In  all  parts  of  India,  says  De  Faira,1  c there  are  pro- 
digious wizards.  When  Yasco  de  Gama  was  sailing  upon 
that  discovery  some  of  them  at  Kalekut  showed  people,  in 
basins  of  water,  the  three  ships  he  had  with  him.  When 
Don  Francisco  de  Almeyda,  the  first  viceroy  of  India,  was 
returning  to  Portugal,  some  witches  of  Kochin  told  him 
he  should  not  pass  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ; and  there  he 
was  buried.  (This  is  strained  a little  ; for  he  did  pass  the 
Cape,  and  was  buried  at  the  bay  of  Saldanna,  some  leagues 
beyond,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter.)  What  follows  is  still 
more  extraordinary.  At  Maskat  there  are  such  sorcerers 
that  they  eat  the  inside  of  a thing,  only  fixing  their  eyes 
upon  it.  With  their  sight  they  draw  out  the  entrails  of 
any  human  body,  and  so  kill  many  people.  One  of  these 
fascinators,  fixing  his  eyes  on  a bateka,  or  water  melon, 
sucked  out  the  inside;  for,  being  cut  open  to  try  the 
experiment,  it  was  found  empty ; and  the  wizard,  to 
satisfy  the  spectators,  vomited  it  up  again.’ 

Father  Merolla,1 2  a Capuchin  ‘ missioner,’  tells  quite 

1 Quoted  in  Astley’s  Collection  of  2 Voyage  to  Congo,  Pinkerton,  vol. 

Voyages,  vol.  i.  p.  63.  xv.  p.  229. 


150  BELIEF  m WITCHCRAFT 

gravely  the  following  story.  The  army  of  Sogno  having 
captured  a neighbouring  town,  found  in  it  a large  cock 
with  a ring  of  iron  round  one  leg.  This  they  killed,  cut 
in  pieces,  and  put  into  a pot  to  boil ; when,  however,  they 
thought  to  eat  it,  6 the  boiled  pieces  of  the  cock,  though 
sodden,  and  near  dissolved,  began  to  move  about,  and 
unite  into  the  form  they  were  in  before,  and  being  so 
united,  the  restored  cock  immediately  raised  himself  up, 
and  jumped  out  of  the  platter  upon  the  ground,  where  he 
walked  about  as  well  as  when  he  wras  first  taken.  After- 
wards he  leaped  upon  an  adjoining  wall,  where  he  became 
new-feathered  all  of  a sudden,  and  then  took  his  flight  to 
a tree  hard  by,  where,  fixing  himself,  he,  after  three  claps 
of  his  wings,  made  a most  hideous  noise,  and  then  dis- 
appeared. Everyone  may  easily  imagine  what  a terrible 
fright  the  spectators  were  in  at  this  sight,  who,  leaping 
with  a thousand  Ave-Marias  in  their  mouths  from  the 
place  where  this  had  happened,  were  contented  to  observe 
most  of  the  particulars  at  a distance.5 

To  doubt  the  reality  of  witchcraft,  says  Lafitau,1  ‘ est 
une  industrie  des  athees,  et  un  effet  de  cet  esprit  d’irre 
ligion  qui  fait  aujourd’hui  des  progres  si  sensibles  dans 
le  monde,  d’avoir  detruit  en  quelque  sorte  dans  l’idee  de 
ceux  meme  qui  se  piquent  d’avoir  de  la  religion ; qu5il  se 
trouve  des  hommes,  qui  ayent  commerce  avec  les  demons 
par  la  voye  des  enchantemens  et  de  la  magie.  On  a 
attache  a cette  opinion  une  certaine  faiblesse  d’esprit  a 
la  croire,  qui  fait  qu’on  ne  la  tolere  plus,  que  dans  les 
femmelettes  et  dans  le  bas  peuple,  ou  dans  les  pretres 
et  dans  les  religieux,  qu5on  suppose  avoir  interet  a 
entretenir  ces  visions  populaires,  qu’un  homme  de  sens 
auroit  honte  d’avouer.  Pour  etablir  cependant  cet  esprit 


1 Loc.  cit . yoI.  i.  p.  374. 


SHARED  BY  EUROPEAN  TRAVELLERS.  151 

d’incredulite,  il  fant  qne  ces  pretendus  esprits  forts  veuil- 
lent  s’aveugler  an  milieu  de  la  lumiere,  qu’ils  renversent 
1’Ancien  et  le  Nouveau  Testament;  qu’ils  contredisent 
toute  l’antiquite,  l’histoire  sacree  et  la  profane.  On 
trouve  partout  des  temoignages  de  ce  commerce  des 
hommes  avec  les  divinites  du  paganisme,  ou  pour  mieux 
dire  avec  les  demons/ 

He  does  not  deny  that  some  wizards  were  impostors, 
but  he  maintains  that  ‘ ce  seroit  rendre  le  monde  trop  sot, 
que  de  vouloir  le  supposer  pendant  plusieurs  siecles,  la 
dupe  de  quelques  miserables  joureurs  de  gobelets.’  Nay, 
he  even  maintained  1 that  America  was,  for  some  myste- 
rious reason,  handed  over  to  the  devil,  and  accounted  for 
the  remarkable  similarity  between  some  of  the  religious 
ceremonies,  &c.,  in  the  new  and  old  worlds,  by  the  hy- 
pothesis that  6 le  demon,  jaloux  de  la  gloire  de  Dieu,  et 
du  bonheur  de  l’homme,  a toujours  ete  attentif  a derober 
a Tun  le  culte  qui  lui  est  du,  et  a perdre  1’autre,  en  le 
rendant  son  Adorateur.  Pour  cela  il  a erige  Autel  contre 
Autel,  et  a affecte  de  maintenir  le  culte,  qu’il  vouloit  se 
faire  rendre  par  les  effets  d’une  puissance  sur-humaine, 
qui  imposassent  par  le  merveilieux,  et  qui  fussent  unites 
et  copies  d’apres  ceux,  dont  Dieu  donnait  a son  peuple 
des  temoignages  si  autentiques,  par  l’evidence  des  miracles 
qu’il  faisoit  en  sa  faveur.’ 

Labat 2 also,  while  admitting  ‘ qu’on  exagere  souvent 
dans  ce  qu’on  en  dit ; mais  je  croi  qu’il  faut  convenir  que 
tout  ce  qu’on  dit  n’est  pas  entierement  faux,  quoiqu’il  ne 
soit  peut-etre  pas  entierement  vrai.  Je  suis  aussi  per- 
suade qu’il  y a des  faits  d’une  verite  tres-constante ; ’ 
and  after  mentioning  four  of  these  supposed  facts,  he 
concludes,  ‘ il  me  semble  que  ces  ouatre  faits  suffisenl 

1 Vol.  i.  p.  355. 

2 Voyage  aux  Isles  de  l’Am^rique,  vol.  ii.  p.  57- 


152 


SORCERERS  NOT  NECESSARILY  IMPOSTORS. 


pour  prouver  qu?il  y a veritablement  des  gens  qui  ont 
commerce  avec  le  diable,  et  qui  se  servent  de  lui  en  bien 
des  choses.5 

Some,  even  of  our  recent  missionaries,  according  to 
Williams,  believed  tbat  the  Polynesian  wizards  really 
possessed  supernatural  powers,  and  were  ‘ agents  of  the 
infernal  powers.5  1 Nay,  Williams  himself  thought  it  ‘ not 
impossible.5 

We  may  well  be  surprised  that  Europeans  should  believe 
in  such  things,  and  missionaries  so  credulous  and  ignorant 
ought,  one  might  suppose,  rather  to  learn  than  to  teach  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  surprising  that  savages  should 
believe  in  witchcraft,  nor  even  that  the  wizards  should 
believe  in  themselves. 

We  must  indeed  by  no  means  suppose  that  sorcerers 
were  always,  or  indeed  generally,  impostors. 

The  Shamans  of  Siberia  are,  says  Wrangel,1  2 by  no 
means  ‘ ordinary  deceivers,  but  a psychological  pheno- 
menon, well  deserving  of  attention.  Whenever  I have 
seen  them  operate  they  have  left  with  me  a long-continued 
and  gloomy  impression.  The  wild  look,  the  bloodshot 
eyes,  the  labouring  breast  and  convulsive  utterance,  the 
seemingly  involuntary  distortion  of  the  face  and  the  whole 
body,  the  streaming  hair,  even  the  hollow  sound  of  the 
drum,  all  contributed  to  the  effect ; and  I can  well  under- 
stand that  the  whole  should  appear  to  the  uncivilised 
spectator  as  the  work  of  evil  spirits.5 

Speaking  of  the  Ahts  in  North-west  America,  it  is 
undoubtedly  a fact,  says  Mr.  Sproat, 3 ‘ that  many  of  the 
sorcerers  themselves  thoroughly  believe  in  their  own 
supernatural  powers,  and  are  able,  in  their  preparations 

1 Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  3 Scenes  and  Studies  of  Savage  Life, 

226.  p.  170. 

2 Siberia,  p.  124. 


FASTING. 


153 


and  practices,  to  endure  excessive  fatigue,  want  of  food, 
and  intense  prolonged  mental  excitement.5 

Dobritzhoffer  also  concludes  that  the  sorcerers  of  the 
Abipones  1 themselves  ‘ imagine  that  they  are  gifted  with 
superior  wisdom ;5  and  Muller  also  is  convinced  that  they 
honestly  believe  in  themselves.2 

We  should,  says  Martius,3  c do  them  an  injustice  if 
we  regarded  the  Brazilian  sorcerers  as  mere  impostors/ 
though,  he  adds,  they  do  not  scruple  to  cheat  where  they 
can. 

Williams,  also,  who  was  by  no  means  disposed  to  take 
a favourable  view  of  the  native  sorcerers,  admits  that  they 
believed  in  themselves,  a fact  which  it  is  only  fair  to  bear 
in  mind.4 

This  self-deception  was  much  facilitated  by,  if  not 
mainly  due  to,  the  very  general  practice  of  fasting  by 
those  who  aspired  to  the  position  of  wizards.  The  Green- 
lander, says  Cranz,5  who  would  be  an  angekok,  6 must 
retire  from  all  mankind  for  a while  into  some  solitary 
recess  or  hermitage,  must  spend  the  time  in  profound 
meditation,  and  call  upon  Torngarsuk  to  send  him  a 
torngak.  At  length,  by  abandoning  the  converse  of  men, 
by  fasting  and  emaciating  the  body,  and  by  a strenuous 
intenseness  of  thought,  the  man’s  imagination  grows  dis- 
tracted, so  that  blended  images  of  men,  beasts,  and 
monsters  appear  before  him.  He  readily  thinks  these 
are  real  spirits,  because  his  thoughts  are  full  of  spirits, 
and  this  throws  his  body  into  great  irregularities  and 
convulsions,  which  he  labours  to  cherish  and  augment.5 

Among  the  North  American  Indians,6  when  a boy  reaches 

1 Loc.  cit.  yol.  ii.  p.  68.  226. 

2 Ges.  d.  Am.  IJrr.  p.  80.  5 History  of  Greenland,  yol.  i.  p. 

3 Von  d.  Rechtszus.  unter  den  Ur.  210. 

Brasiliens,  p.  30.  6 Catlin’s  North  American  Indians, 

4 Polynesian  Researches,  yol.  ii.  p.  yol.  i.  p.  36. 

8 


154 


FASTING. 


maturity,  lie  leaves  home  and  absents  himself  for  some 
days,  during  which  he  eats  nothing,  but  lies  on  the  ground 
thinking.  When  at  length  he  falls  asleep  the  first  animal 
about  which  he  dreams  is,  he  thinks,  ordained  to  be  his 
special  protector  through  life.1  The  dream  itself  he  looks 
on  as  a revelation.  Indeed  the  Bedskins  fast  before  any 
great  expedition,  thinking  that  during  their  dreams  they 
receive  indications  as  to  the  course  of  action  which  they 
should  pursue.2 

Among  the  Cherokees  also  fasting  is  very  prevalent, 
‘ and  an  abstinence  of  seven  days  renders  the  devotee 
famous.’  3 

The  Flatheads  of  Oregon  have  a very  similar  custom. 
Here,  however,  a number  of  youths  retire  together. 
4 They  spend  three  days  and  nights  in  the  performance 
of  these  rites,  without  eating  or  drinking.  By  the  languor 
of  the  body  and  the  high  excitement  of  the  imagination 
produced  during  this  time,  their  sleep  must  be  broken 
and  visited  by  visions  adapted  to  their  views.’ 4 These, 
therefore,  they  not  unnaturally  look  on  as  the  visits  of 
spirits. 

Those  who  by  continued  fasts  have  thus  purified  and 
cleared  their  minds  from  gross  ideas,  are  supposed  to  be 
capable  of  a clearer  insight  into  the  future  than  that  which 
is  accorded  to  ordinary  men,  and  are  called  6 Saiotkatta  ’ 
by  the  Hurons,  and  6 Agotsinnachen  ’ by  the  Iroquois, 
terms  which  mean  literally  ‘ seers.’  5 

In  Brazil,  a young  man  who  wishes  to  be  a paje  dwells 
alone  in  some  mountain,  or  in  some  lone  place,  and  fasts 
for  two  years,  after  which  he  is  admitted  with  certain 

1 Lafitau,  loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  pp.  267,  290,  Tribes,  p.  36. 

331,  and  especially  pp.  336  and  370.  4 Dunn’s  Oregon,  p.  329. 

2 Carver’s  Travels,  p.  285.  5 Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  371. 

3 Whipple’s  Eeport  on  Indian 


RELIGIOUS  DANCES. 


155 


ceremonies  into  tlie  order  of  pajes.1  Among  the  Abipones 2 
and  Caribs  3 4 those  who  aspire  to  be  6 keebet  ’ proceed  in  a 
similar  manner.  Among  the  South  American  Indians  of 
the  Rio  de  la  Plata  the  Medicine-men  were  prepared  for 
their  office  by  a long  fast.4  Among  the  Lapps,  also, 
would-be  wizards  prepare  themselves  by  a strict  fast.5 

At  first  sight  the  introduction  of  the  6 dance  9 may  seem 
out  of  place  here.  Among  savages,  however,  it  is  no  mere 
amusement.  It  is,  says  Robertson,6  ‘ a serious  and  im- 
portant occupation,  which  mingles  in  every  occurrence  of 
public  or  private  life.  If  any  intercourse  be  necessary 
between  two  American  tribes  the  ambassadors  of  the  one 
approach  in  a solemn  dance  and  present  the  calumet  or 
emblem  of  peace  ; the  sachems  of  the  other  receive  it  with 
the  same  ceremony.  If  war  is  denounced  against  an 
enemy,  it  is  by  a dance,  expressive  of  the  resentment  which 
they  feel,  and  of  the  vengeance  which  they  meditate.  If 
the  wrath  of  their  gods  is  to  be  appeased,  or  their  benefi- 
cence to  be  celebrated — if  they  rejoice  at  the  birth  of  a 
child,  or  mourn  the  death  of  a friend,  they  have  dances 
appropriated  to  each  of  these  situations,  and  suited  to  the 
different  sentiments  with  which  they  are  then  animated. 
If  a person  is  indisposed  a dance  is  prescribed  as  the  most 
effectual  means  to  restore  him  to  health ; and  if  he  him- 
self cannot  endure  the  fatigue  of  such  an  exercise,  the 
physician  or  conjurer  performs  it  in  his  name,  as  if  the 
virtue  of  his  activity  could  be  transferred  to  his  patient/ 

Among  the  Kols  of  Nagpore  Colonel  Dalton  7 describes 

1 Martius,  Becht.  unter  d.  Ur.  Bras  p.  So. 

p.  30.  6 Bobertson’s  America,  bk.  iv.  p. 

2 Dobritzhoffer,  yoI.  ii.  p.  67.  133.  See  also  Schoolcraft,  loc.  eit.  vol. 

3 Du  Tertre,  History  of  the  Caribby  iii.  p.  488,  on  the  Sacred  Dances  of  the 

Islands,  p.  342.  Bedskins. 

4 Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  335.  7 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  30. 

5 Klemm,  Cult,  der  Mens.,  vol.  iii. 


156 


RELIGIOUS  DANCES, 


dance.  (From  Lafitau’s  ‘ Mceurs  des  Sauvages.’) 


SMOKING  AS  A RELIGIOUS  FORM.  157 

several  dances  which,  he  says,  ‘ are  all  more  or  less  con- 
nected with  some  religious  ceremony.5 

The  Ostyaks  also  perform  sacred  sword  dances  in  honour 
of  their  god  Yelan.1 

Fig.  18  represents  a sacred  dance  as  practised  by  the 
natives  of  Virginia.  It  is  very  interesting  to  see  here  a 
circle  of  upright  stones,  which,  except  that  they  are  rudely 
carved  at  the  upper  end  into  the  form  of  a head,  exactly 
resemble  our  so-called  Druidical  temples. 

The  idea  is  by  no  means  confined  to  mere  savages. 
Even  Socrates 2 regarded  the  dance  as  a part  of  religion, 
and  David,  we  know,  did  so  too.3 

As  sacrificial  feasts  so  generally  enter  into  religious  cere- 
monials, we  need  not  wonder  that  smoking  is  throughout 
America  closely  connected  with  all  religious  ceremonies, 
just  as  incense  is  used  for  the  same  purpose  in  the  Old 
World.4  Among  the  Sonthals  also,  one  of  the  aboriginal 
tribes  of  India,  the  whole  of  their  religious  observances 
c are  generally  performed  and  attended  to  by  the  votaries 
whilst  in  a state  of  intoxication ; a custom  which  reminds 
us  of  the  worship  of  Bacchus  among  the  Greeks  and 
Bomans.5  5 

1 Erman,vol.  ii.  p.  52.  4 Lafitau,  vol.  ii.  p.  133. 

2 Soc.  apud  Athen.  lib.  14,  p.  628.  5 The  People  of  India,  by  J.  F% 

Quoted  in  Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  200.  Watson  and  J.  W.  Kaye,  yoI.  i.  p.  1. 

3 2 Sam.  vi.  14,  22. 


158 


RELIGIOUS  IDEAS  OF  AUSTRALIANS. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

religion  [continued). 

IN  tracing  up  tlie  gradual  evolution  of  religious  beliefs 
we  may  begin  with  the  Australians,  who  possess 
merely  certain  vague  ideas  as  to  the  existence  of  evil 
spirits,  and  a general  dread  of  witchcraft.  This  belief 
cannot  be  said  to  influence  them  by  day,  but  it  renders 
them  very  unwilling  to  quit  the  camp  fire  by  night,  or  to 
sleep  near  a grave.  They  have  no  idea  of  creation,  nor 
do  they  use  prayers ; they  have  no  religious  forms,  cere- 
monies, or  worship.  They  do  not  believe  in  the  existence 
of  a Deity,  nor  is  morality  in  any  way  connected  with 
their  religion,  if  it  can  be  so  called.  The  words  ‘ good 3 
or  ‘ bad  9 had  reference  to  taste  or  bodily  comfort,  and  did 
not  convey  any  idea  of  right  or  wrong.1  Another  curious 
notion  of  the  Australians  is  that  white  men  are  blacks 
who  have  risen  from  the  dead.  This  notion  was  found 
among  the  natives  north  of  Sydney  as  early  as  1795,  and 
can  scarcely,  therefore,  be  of  missionary  origin.2  It  occurs 
also  among  the  negroes  of  Guinea.3  The  ideas  of  the 
Australians  on  the  subject,  however,  seem  to  have  been 
very  various  and  confused.  . They  had  certainly  no  general 
and  definite  view  on  the  subject. 

As  regards  the  North  Australians  we  have  trustworthy 
accounts  given  by  a Scotchwoman,  Mrs.  Thomson,  who 

1 Loc.  cit.  pp.  354,  355,  356.  3 Smith’s  Guinea,  p.  215.  Bosnian, 

2 Collins’  English  Colony  in  N.S.  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  vol.  xv.  p.  40. 
Wales,  p.  303. 


RELIGION  OF  AUSTRALIANS.  VEDDAHS.  159 

was  wrecked  on  the  Eastern  Prince  of  Wales  Island.  Her 
husband  and  the  rest  of  the  crew  were  drowned,  but  she 
was  saved  by  the  natives,  and  lived  with  them  nearly  five 
years,  until  the  visit  of  the 4 Rattlesnake,5  when  she  escaped 
with  some  difficulty.  On  the  whole  she  was  kindly  treated 
by  the  men,  though  the  women  were  long  jealous  of  her, 
and  behaved  towards  her  with  much  cruelty.  These  people 
have  no  idea  of  a Supreme  Being.1 2  They  do  not  believe  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  hold  that  they  are  c after 
death  changed  into  white  people  or  Europeans,  and  as 
such  pass  the  second  and  final  period  of  their  existence ; 
nor  is  it  any  part  of  their  creed  that  future  rewards  and 
punishments  are  awarded.5  2 

Mrs.  Thomson  was  supposed  to  be  the  ghost  of  Giom, 
a daughter  of  a man  named  Piaquai,  and  when  she  was 
teased  by  children,  the  men  would  often  tell  them  to  leave 
her  alone,  saying,  ‘ Poor  thing  ! she  is  nothing — only  a 
ghost.5  This,  however,  did  not  prevent  a man  named 
Boroto  making  her  his  wife,  which  shows  how  little  is 
actually  implied  in  the  statement  the  Australians  believe 
in  spirits.  They  really  do  no  more  than  believe  in  the 
existence  of  men,  somewhat  different  from,  and  a little 
more  powerful  than,  themselves.  The  South  Australians 
as  described  by  Stephens  had  no  religious  rites,  ceremonies, 
or  worship ; no  idea  of  a Supreme  Being ; but  a vague 
dread  of  evil  spirits.3 

TheTeddahs  of  Ceylon,  according  to  Davy,  believe  in 
evil  beings,  but ( have  no  idea  of  a supreme  and  beneficent 
God,  or  of  a state  of  future  existence,  or  of  a system  of 
rewards  and  punishments  ; and,  in  consequence,  they  are  of 
opinion  that  it  signifies  little  whether  they  do  good  or  evil.54 

1 Me  Gillivray’s  Voyage  of  the  3 Stephens’  South  Australia,  p.  78. 

Rattlesnake,  vol.  ii.  p.  29.  4 Davy’s  Ceylon,  p.  118. 

2 Log „ cit . p.  29. 


160 


RELIGIOUS  IDEAS  OF  THE  CALIFORNIANS. 


The  Indians  of  California  have  been  well  described  by 
Father  Baegert,  a Jesuit  missionary,  who  lived  among  them 
no  less  than  seventeen  years.1  As  to  government  or 
religion,  he  says,2  * neither  the  one  nor  the  other  existed 
among  them.  They  had  no  magistrates,  no  police,  and  no 
laws  ; idols,  temples,  religions  worship  or  ceremonies  were 
unknown  to  them,  and  they  neither  believed  in  the  true 
and  only  God,  nor  adored  false  deities.  They  were  all 
equals,  and  everyone  did  as  he  pleased,  without  asking 
his  neighbour  or  caring  for  his  opinion,  and  thus  all  vices 
and  misdeeds  remained  unpunished,  excepting  such  cases 
in  which  the  offended  individual  or  his  relations  took  the 
law  into  their  own  hands  and  revenged  themselves  on  the 
guilty  party.  The  different  tribes  represented  by  no 
means  communities  of  rational  beings,  who  submit  to  laws 
and  regulations  and  obey  their  superiors,  but  resembled 
far  more  herds  of  wild  swine,  which  run  about  according 
to  their  own  liking,  being  together  to-day  and  scattered 
to-morrow,  till  they  meet  again  by  accident  at  some  future 
time. 

6 In  one  word,  the  Californians  lived,  salva  venia , as 
though  they  had  been  freethinkers  and  materialists. 

‘ I made  diligent  enquiries,  among  those  with  whom  I 
lived,  to  ascertain  whether  they  had  any  conception  of 
God,  a future  life,  and  their  own  souls,  but  I never  could 
discover  the  slightest  trace  of  such  a knowledge.  Their 
language  has  no  words  for  “ God  ” and  “ soul,”  for  which 
reason  the  missionaries  were  compelled  to  use  in  their 
sermons  and  religious  instructions  the  Spanish  words  Dios 
and  alma.  It  could  hardly  be  otherwise  with  people  who 
thought  of  nothing  but  eating  and  merry-making  and 

1 Naehrichten  yon  der  Amer.  Halb.  2 Smithsonian  Reports,  1864,  p. 

Califomie,  1773.  Translated  in  Smith-  390. 
sonian  Reports,  1863-4. 


CALIFORNIANS.  BACHAPINS. 


161 


never  reflected  on  serious  matters,  but  dismissed  every- 
thing that  lay  beyond  the  narrow  compass  of  their  con- 
ceptions with  the  phrase  aipekeriri,  which  means  “who 
knows  that?”  I often  asked  them  whether  they  had 
never  put  to  themselves  the  question  who  might  be  the 
Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  and  other 
objects  of  nature,  but  was  always  sent  home  with  a vara, 
which  means  “ no  ” in  their  language/  They  had,  how- 
ever, certain  sorcerers,  whom  they  believed  to  possess 
power  over  diseases,  to  bring  small-pox,  famine,  &c.,  and 
of  whom,  therefore,  they  were  in  much  fear. 

Mr.  Gibbs,  speaking  of  the  Indians  living  in  the  valleys 
drained  by  the  Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin,  says  : 
6 One  of  this  tribe,  who  had  been  for  three  or  four  years 
among  the  whites,  and  accompanied  the  expedition,  on 
being  questioned  as  to  his  own  belief  in  a Deity,  ac- 
knowledged his  entire  ignorance  on  the  subject.  As 
regarded  a future  state  of  any  kind,  he  was  equally  unin- 
formed and  indifferent ; in  fact,  did  not  believe  in  any  for 
himself.  As  a reason  why  his  people  did  not  go  to  another 
country  after  death,  while  the  whites  might,  he  assigned 
that  the  Indians  burned  their  dead,  and  he  supposed  there 
was  an  end  of  them/1 

The  religion  of  the  Bachapins,  a Kaffir  tribe,  has  been 
described  by  Burchell.  They  had  no  outward  worship, 
nor,  so  far  as  he  could  learn,  any  private  devotion  ; indeed, 
they  had  no  belief  in  a beneficent  Deity,  though  they 
feared  an  evil  Being  called  * Muleemo,’  or  c Murimo/  They 
had  no  idea  of  creation.  Even  when  Burchell  suggested  it 
to  them,  they  did  not  attribute  it  to  Muleemo,  but c asserted 
that  every  thing  made  itself,  and  that  trees  and  herbage 
grew  by  their  own  will/2  They  believed  in  sorcery,  and 
in  the  efficacy  of  amulets. 

1 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  toI.  iii.  p.  107.  2 Travels,  voL  p.  550. 


162 


KAFFIKS. 


Dr.  Yanderkemp,  the  first  missionary  to  the  Kaffirs, 
4 never  could  perceive  that  they  had  any  religion,  or  any 
idea  of  the  existence  of  God/  Mr.  Moffat  also,  who  lived 
in  South  Africa  as  a missionary  for  many  years,  says  that 
they  were  utterly  destitute  of  theological  ideas ; 5 and 
Dr.  Gardner,  in  his  ‘ Faiths  of  the  World,5  concludes  as 
follows  / 6 From  all  that  can  be  ascertained  on  the  religion 
of  the  Kaffirs,  it  seems  that  those  of  them  who  are  still 
in  their  heathen  state  have  no  idea,  (1)  of  a Supreme 
Intelligent  Kuler  of  the  universe  ; (2)  of  a Sabbath ; (3) 
of  a day  of  judgment ; (4)  of  the  guilt  and  pollution  of 
sin ; (5)  of  a Saviour  to  deliver  them  from  the  wrath  to 
come/ 

The  Rev.  Canon  Callaway  has  recently  published  a 
very  interesting  memoir  on  ‘ The  Religious  System  of  the 
Amazulu,5  who  are  somewhat  more  advanced  in  their 
religious  conceptions.  The  first  portion  is  entitled  6 Un- 
kulunkulu or  the  Tradition  of  Creation/  It  does  not, 
however,  appear  that  Unkulunkulu  is  regarded  as  a 
Creator,  or  even  as  a Deity  at  all.  It  is  simply  the  first 
man,  the  Zulu  Adam.  Some  complication  arises  from  the 
fact  that  not  only  the  ancestor  of  all  mankind,  but  also 
the  first  of  each  tribe,  is  called  Unkulunkulu,  so  that 
there  are  many  Onkulunkulu,  or  Unkulunkulus.  None  of 
them,  however,  have  any  of  the  characters  of  Deity;  no 
prayers  or  sacrifices  are  offered  to  them  ;1 2  indeed,  they  no 
longer  exist,  having  been  long  dead.3  Unkulunkulu  was 
in  no  sense  a Creator,4  nor,  indeed,  is  any  special  power 
attributed  to  him.5  He,  i.e.  man,  arose  from  c Umklanga,5 
that  is  ‘ a bed  of  reeds/  but,  how  lie  did  so,  no  one  knew.6 
Mr.  Callaway  agrees  with  Casalis,  that  ‘ it  never  entered 

1 Loc.  cit.  p.  260.  4 Loo . cit.  p.  187. 

2 Loc.  cit . pp.  9,  25,  34,  75.  5 Loc.  cit.  p.  43. 

r Loc . cit.  pp.  15,  33,  62.  6 loc . Ciu  pp.  9.  40. 


KAFFIRS. 


163 


the  heads  of  the  Zulus  that  the  earth  and  sky-might  be 
the  work  of  an  invisible  Being/  1 One  native  thought  the 
white  men  made  the  world.2  They  had,  indeed,  no  idea  of, 
or  name  for,  God.3  When  Moffat  endeavoured  to  explain 
to  a chief  about  God,  he  exclaimed,  6 Would  that  I could 
catch  it!  I would  transfix  it  with  my  spear;’  yet  this 
was  a man  ‘ whose  judgment  on  other  subjects  would 
command  attention.’ 4 

Yet  they  are  not  without  a belief  in  invisible  beings. 
This  is  founded  partly  on  the  shadow,  but  principally  on 
the  dream.  They  regard  the  shadow  as  in  some  way  the 
spirit  which  accompanies  the  body  (reminding  us  of  the 
similar  idea  among  the  Greeks),  and  they  have  a curious 
notion  that  a dead  body  casts  no  shadow.5 

Still  more  important  has  been  the  influence  of  dreams. 
When  a dead  father  or  brother  appears  to  a man  in  his 
sleep,  he  does  not  doubt  the  reality  of  the  occurrence,  and 
hence  concludes  that  they  still  live.  Grandfathers,  however, 
are  by  inverse  reasoning  regarded  as  generally  dead.6 

Diseases  are  regarded  as  being  often  caused  by  the 
spirits  of  discontented  relatives.  In  other  respects  these 
spirits  are  not  regarded  as  possessing  any  special  powers  ; 
though  prayed  to,  it  is  not  in  such  a manner  as  to  indicate 
a belief  that  they  have  any  supernatural  influence,  and 
they  are  clearly  not  regarded  as  immortal.  In  some  cases 
departed  relatives  are  regarded  as  reappearing  in  the  form 
of  snakes,7  which  may  be  known  from  ordinary  snakes  by 
certain  signs,8  such  as  their  frequenting  huts,  not  eating 
mice,  and  showing  no  fear  of  man.  Sometimes  a snake 
is  recognised  as  the  representative  of  a given  man  by  some 

1 Loc.  cit . pp,  54,  108,  5 Loc.  cit . p.  91. 

2 Loc . cit . p.  55.  • Loc.  cit.  p.  15, 

3 Loc.  cit.  pp.  107,  113,  136.  7 Loc.  cit.  p.  8. 

4 Loc.  cit.  p.  111.  8 Loc.  cit.  pp.  198,  199. 


164 


FETICHISM. 


peculiar  mark  or  scar,  the  absence  of  an  eye,  or  some  other 
similar  point  of  resemblance. 

In  such  cases  sacrifices  are  sometimes  offered  to  the 
snake,  and  when  a bullock  is  killed  part  is  put  away  for 
the  use  of  the  dead  or  Amatongo,  who  are  specially  invited 
to  the  feast,  whose  assistance  is  requested,  and  whose 
wrath  is  deprecated.  Yet  this  can  hardly  be  called  ‘ an- 
cestor worship.5  The  dead  have,  it  is  true,  the  advantage 
of  invisibility,  but  they  are  not  regarded  as  omnipresent, 
omnipotent,  or  immortal.  There  are  even  means  by  which 
troublesome  spirits  may  be  destroyed  or  c laid.5 1 

In  such  cases  as  these,  then,  we  see  religion  in  a very 
low  phase ; that  in  which  it  consists  merely  of  belief  in 
the  existence  of  evil  beings,  less  material  than  we  are,  but 
mortal  like  ourselves,  and  if  more  powerful  than  we  are  in 
some  respects,  even  less  so  in  others.  The  Fetichism  of  the 
negro  is  a decided  step  in  advance.  Beligion,  if  it  can  be 
so  called,  is  systematised,  and  greatly  raised  in  importance. 
Nevertheless  from  another  point  of  view  Fetichism  may 
almost  be  regarded  as  an  anti-religion.  For  the  negro 
believes  that  by  means  of  the  fetich  he  can  coerce  and 
control  his  deity.  In  fact  Fetichism  is  mere  witchcraft. 
We  have  already  seen  that  magicians  all  over  the  world 
think  that  if  they  can  obtain  a part  of  an  enemy  the  pos- 
session of  it  gives  them  a power  over  him.  Even  a bit 
of  his  clothing  will  answer  the  purpose,  or,  if  this  cannot 
be  got,  it  seems  to  them  natural  that  an  injury  even  to  an 
image  would  affect  the  original.  That  is  to  say,  a man  who 
can  destroy  or  torture  the  image,  thus  inflicts  pain  on  the 
original,  and,  this  being  magical,  is  independent  of  the 
power  of  that  original.  Even  in  Europe  and  in  the  eleventh 
century  some  unfortunate  Jews  were  accused  of  having 


1 Loc.  cit.  p.  160. 


NEGROES. 


165 


murdered  a certain  Bishop  Eberhard  in  this  way.  They 
made  a wax  image  of  him,  had  it  baptised,  and  then  burnt 
it,  and  so  the  bishop  died. 

Lord  Kames  says  that  at  the  time  of  Catherine  de 
Medicis  ‘ it  was  common  to  take  the  resemblance  of  enemies 
in  wax,  in  order  to  torment  them  by  roasting  the  figure  at 
a slow  fire,  and  pricking  it  with  needles.5 1 

In  India,  says  Dubois,2  4 a quantity  of  mud  is  moulded 
into  small  figures,  on  the  breasts  of  which  they  write  the 
name  of  the  persons  whom  they  mean  to  annoy.  . . They 
pierce  the  images  with  thorns,  or  mutilate  them,  so  as  to 
communicate  a corresponding  injury  to  the  person  repre- 
sented.5 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  Fetichism  is  an  extension 
of  this  belief.  The  negro  supposes  that  the  possession  of  a 
fetich  representing  a spirit,  makes  the  spirit  his  servant. 
We  know  that  the  negroes  beat  their  fetich  if  their  prayers 
are  unanswered,  and  I believe  they  seriously  think  they 
thus  inflict  suffering  on  the  actual  deity.  Thus  the 
fetich  cannot  fairly  be  called  an  idol.  The  same  image 
or  object  may  indeed  be  a fetich  to  one  man  and  an  idol 
to  another;  yet  the  two  are  essentially  different  in  their 
nature.  An  idol  is  indeed  an  object  of  worship,  while,  on 
the  contrary,  a fetich  is  intended  to  bring  the  Deity 
within  the  control  of  man,  an  attempt  which  is  less  absurd 
than  it  at  first  sight  appears,  when  considered  in  con- 
nection with  their  low  religious  ideas. 

If  then  witchcraft  be  not  confused  with  religion,  as  I 
think  it  ought  not  to  be,  Fetichism  can  hardly  be  called  a 
religion ; to  the  true  spirit  of  which  it  is  indeed  entirely 
opposed. 

Anything  will  do  for  a fetich ; it  need  not  represent  the 

1 Lord  Kames’  History  of  Man,  vol.  iv.  p.  261  2 Loc.  cit . p.  347. 


168 


FETICHISM  IH  OTHER  RACES. 


human  figure,  though  it  may  do  so.  Even  an  ear  of 
maize  will  answer  the  purpose.  If,  said  an  intelligent  negro 
to  Bosnian,1 *  any  of  us  is  c resolved  to  undertake  anything 
of  importance,  we  first  of  all  search  out  a god  to  prosper  our 
designed  undertaking ; and  going  out  of  doors  with  this 
design,  take  the  first  creature  that  presents  itself  to  our 
eyes,  whether  dog,  cat,  or  the  most  contemptible  animal  in 
the  world,  for  our  god : or  perhaps,  instead  of  that,  any 
inanimate  object  that  falls  in  our  way,  whether  a stone, 
or  piece  of  wood,  or  anything  else  of  the  same  nature. 
This  new-chosen  god  is  immediately  presented  with  an 
offering,  which  is  accompanied  with  a solemn  vow,  that  if 
he  pleaseth  to  prosper  our  undertakings,  for  the  future  we 
will  always  worship  and  esteem  him  as  a god.  If  our 
design  prove  successful,  we  have  discovered  a new  and 
assisting  god,  which  is  daily  presented  with  fresh  offer- 
ings ; but  if  the  contrary  happen,  the  new  god  is  rejected 
as  a useless  tool,  and  consequently  returns  to  his  primitive 
estate.5  He  went  on  in  these  following  words,  ‘We  make 
and  break  our  gods  daily,  and  consequently  are  the  masters 
and  inventors  of  what  we  sacrifice  to.’ 

Even  Europeans,  extraordinary  as  it  may  seem,  believed 
in  these  superstitions  delusions. 

The  term  Eetichism  is  generally  connected  with  the 
negro  race,  but  a corresponding  state  of  mind  exists  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  fact,  it  may  almost  be 
said  to  be  universal,  since  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
witchcraft ; and  in  the  most  advanced  countries— even  in 
our  own — the  belief  in  witchcraft  has  but  recently  been 
eradicated. 

The  Badagas  (Hindostan),  according  to  Metz,  are 
still  in  a ‘ condition  little  above'  fetichism.  Anything 

1 Bosnian’s  Guinea,  Pinkerton’s  Loyer  (1701),  Astley’s  Collection,  vol. 

Voyages,  vol.  xvi.  p.  493.  See  also  ii.  p.  440. 


HIND  OS  TAN. 


167 


with  them  may  become  an  object  of  adoration,  if  the 
head  man  or  the  village  priest  should  take  a fancy  to 
deify  it.  As  a necessary  consequence,  however,  of  this 
state  of  things,  no  real  respect  is  entertained  towards  their 
deities,  and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  hear  the 
people  call  them  liars,  and  use  opprobrious  epithets 
respecting  them.5 1 Again,  speaking  of  the  Chota  Nag- 
pore  tribes  of  Central  India,  Colonel  Dalton  observes  that 
certain  6 peculiarities  in  the  paganism  of  the  Oraon,  and 
only  practised  by  Moondahs  who  live  in  the  same  village 
with  them,  appear  to  me  to  savour  thoroughly  of  feti- 
chism.5  2 

In  Jeypore 3 the  body  of  a small  musk-rat  is  regarded 
as  a powerful  talisman.  6 The  body  of  this  animal,  dried, 
is  inclosed  in  a case  of  brass,  silver,  or  gold,  according  to 
the  means  of  the  individual,  and  is  slung  abound  the  neck, 
or  tied  to  the  arm,  to  render  the  individual  proof  against 
all  evil,  not  excepting  sword  and  other  cut,  musket- 
shot,  &c.5 

In  all  these  cases  the  tribes  seem  to  me  to  be  naturally 
in  the  state  of  Fetichism,  disguised  however  and  modified 
by  fragments  of  the  higher  Hindoo  religions,  which  they 
have  adopted  without  understanding. 

Though  the  Eedskins  of  North  America  have  reached  a 
higher  stage  of  religious  development,  they  still  retain 
fetiches  in  the  form  of  c medicine-bags.5  ‘ Every  Indian,5 
says  Catlin,4  6 in  his  primitive  state,  carries  his  medicine- 
bag  in  some  form  or  other,5  and  to  it  he  looks  for  pro- 
tection and  safety.  The  nature  of  the  medicine-bag  is 
thus  determined.  At  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age  the 
boy  wanders  away  alone  upon  the  Prairie,  where  he 

1 The  Tribes  of  the  Neilgherries,  8 Shortt,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  vi. 

p.  60.  p.  278. 

2 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  yol.  yi.  4 American  Indians,  vol.  i.  p.  36. 


168 


NORTH  AMERICA. 


remains  two,  three,  four,  or  even  five  days,  lying  on  the 
ground  musing  and  fasting.  He  remains  awake  as  long 
as  he  can,  but  when  he  sleeps  the  first  animal  of  which  he 
dreams  becomes  his  ‘ medicine.5  As  soon  as  possible  he 
shoots  an  animal  of  the  species  in  question,  and  makes  a 
medicine-bag  of  the  skin.  Unlike  the  fickle  Negro,  how- 
ever, the  Eedskin  never  changes  his  fetich.  To  him  it  be- 
comes an  emblem  of  success,  like  the  shield  of  the  Greek, 
or  the  more  modern  sword,  and  to  lose  it  is  disgrace.  The 
Columbian  Indians  have  small  figures  in  the  form  of  a 
quadruped,  bird,  or  fish.  These,  though  called  idols,  are 
rather  fetiches,  because,  as  all  disease  is  attributed  to 
them,  when  anyone  is  ill  they  are  beaten  together,  and 
the  first  which  loses  a tooth  or  claw  is  supposed  to  be  the 
culprit.- 

In  China,2  also,  c if  the  people,  after  long  praying  to 
their  images,  do  not  obtain  what  they  desire,  as  it  often 
happens,  they  turn  them  off  as  impotent  gods  ; others  use 
them  in  a most  reproachful  manner,  loading  them  with 
hard  names,  and  sometimes  with  blows.  “ How  now,  dog 
of  a spirit ! 55  say  they  to  them ; 66  we  give  you  a lodging  in  a 
magnificent  temple,  we  gild  you  handsomely,  feed  you  well, 
and  offer  incense  to  you ; yet,  after  all  this  care,  you  are  so 
ungrateful  as  to  refuse  us  what  we  ask  of  you.35  Hereupon 
they  tie  this  image  with  cords,  pluck  him  down,  and  drag 
him  along  the  streets,  through  all  the  mud  and  dunghills, 
to  punish  him  for  the  expense  of  perfume  which  they  have 
thrown  away  upon  him.  If  in  the  meantime  it  happens 
that  they  obtain  their  request,  then,  with  a great  deal  of 
ceremony,  they  wash  him  clean,  carry  him  back,  and 
place  him  in  his  niche  again ; where  they  fall  down  to 
him,  and  make  excuses  for  what  they  have  done.  “ In  a 

1 Dunn’s  Oregon,  p.  125. 

Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  218. 


CHINA.  SIBERIA. 


169 


truth.”  say  they,  “ we  were  a little  too  hasty,  as  well  as 
you  were  somewhat  too  long  in  your  grant.  Why  should 
you  bring  this  beating  on  yourself?  But  what  is  done 
cannot  be  now  undone ; let  us  not  therefore  think  of  it 
any  more.  If  you  will  forget  what  is  past,  we  will  gild 
you  over  again.” 5 

Pallas,  speaking  of  the  Ostiaks,  states  that,  ‘ Malgre  la 
veneration  et  le  respect  qu’ils  ont  pour  leurs  idoles, 
malheur  a elles  lorsqu’il  arrive  un  malheur  a TOstiak,  et 
que  Tidole  n’y  remedie  pas,  II  la  jette  alors  par  terre,  la 
frappe,  la  maltraite,  et  la  brise  en  morceaux.  Cette 
correction  arrive  frequemment.  Cette  colere  est  commune 
a tous  les  peuples  idolatres  de  la  Siberie.5 1 

In  Whydah  (W.  Africa),  and  I believe  generally,  the 
negroes  will  not  eat  the  animal  or  plant  which  they 
have  chosen  for  their  fetich.2 

In  Issini,  on  the  contrary,  c eating  the  fetich 5 is  a 
solemn  ceremony  on  taking  an  oath,  or  as  a token  of 
friendship.3 

Petichism,  strictly  speaking,  has  no  temples,  idols, 
priests,  sacrifices,  or  prayer.  It  involves  no  belief  in 
creation  or  in  a future  life,  and  a fortiori  none  in  a state 
of  rewards  and  punishments.  It  is  entirely  independent 
of  morality.  In  most,  however,  of  the  powerful  negro 
monarchies  religion  has  made  some  progress  in  organisa- 
tion ; but  though  we  find  both  sacred  buildings  and  priests, 
the  religion  itself  shows  little,  if  any,  intellectual  im- 
provement. 

The  next  stage  in  religious  progress  is  that  which  may 
be  called  Totemism.  The  savage  does  not  abandon  his 
belief  in  fetichism,  from  which  indeed  no  race  of  men  has 
yet  entirely  freed  itself,  but  he  superinduces  on  it  a belief 

1 Pallas’s  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  79.  p.  411. 

2 Phillips,  1693.  Astley,  yol.  ii.  3 Loyer,  1701,  loc.  cit.  p.  436. 


170 


TOTEMISM. 


in  beings  of  a higher  and  less  material  nature.  In  this 
stage  everything  may  be  worshipped — trees,  stones,  rivers, 
mountains,  the  heavenly  bodies,  plants,  and  animals. 

How  ready  savages  are  to  deify  objects,  both  animate 
and  inanimate,  I shall  presently  bring  forward  abundant 
evidence ; for  the  present,  I will  only  quote  the  following 
story  from  Lander’s  c Niger  Expedition.’ 

In  most  African  towns  and  villages,  says  Lander,1  ‘ I 
was  treated  as  a demigod.’  On  one  occasion,  having 
landed  at  a village  which  white  men  had  never  visited 
before,  his  party  caused  great  terror.  When  they  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  a communication  with  the  natives, 
the  chief  gave  the  following  account  of  what  had 
taken  place.  6 A few  minutes,’ 2 he  said,  c after  you  first 
landed,  one  of  my  people  came  to  me  and  said,  that  a 
number  of  strange  people  had  arrived  at  the  market-place. 
I sent  him  back  again  to  get  as  near  to  you  as  he  could, 
to  hear  what  you  intended  doing.  He  soon  after  returned 
to  me  and  said  that  you  spoke  a language  which  he  could 
not  understand.  Not  doubting  it  was  your  intention  to 
attack  my  village  at  night  and  carry  off  my  people,  I 
desired  them  to  get  ready  to  fight.  We  were  all  prepared 
and  ready  to  kill  you,  and  came  down  breathing  vengeance 
and  slaughter,  supposing  that  you  were  my  enemies,  and 
had  landed  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  But  when 
you  came  to  meet  us  unarmed,  and  we  saw  your  white 
faces,  we  were  all  so  frightened  that  we  could  not  pull  our 
bows,  nor  move  hand  or  foot ; and  when  you  drew  near 
me,  and  extended  your  hands  towards  me,  I felt  my  heart 
faint  within  me,  and  believed  that  you  were  “ children  of 
Heaven,”  and  had  dropped  from  the  skies.’ 

The  worship  of  animals  is  very  prevalent  among  races 

1 R.  and  J.  Lander’s  Niger  Expedition,  vol.  iii.  p.  198. 

2 Loc.  cit.  yoI.  iii.  p.  78. 


ANIMAL  WORSHIP. 


171 


of  men  in  a somewhat  higher  stage  of  civilisation  than 
that  characterised  by  Eetichisin.  Plutarch,  long  ago, 
suggested  that  it  arose  from  the  custom  of  representing 
animals  upon  standards ; and  it  is  possible  that  some  few 
cases  may  be  due  to  this  cause,  though  it  is  manifestly 
inapplicable  to  the  majority,  because  animal  worship  much 
precedes  the  use  of  standards  in  the  scale  of  human  de- 
velopment. Diodorus  explains  it  by  the  myth  that  the 
gods,  being  at  one  time  hard  pressed  by  the  giants,  con- 
cealed themselves  for  a while  under  the  form  of  animals, 
which  in  consequence  became  sacred,  and  were  worshipped 
by  men.  This  absurd  theory  needs  no  refutation. 

Another  ancient  suggestion  was  that  the  Egyptian 
chiefs  wore  helmets  in  the  form  of  animals5  heads,  and 
that  hence  these  animals  were  worshipped.  This  theory, 
however,  will  not  apply  generally,  because  the  other  races 
which  worship  animals  do  not  use  such  helmets,  and  even 
in  Egypt  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  worship  of 
animals  preceded  the  use  of  helmets. 

Plutarch,  as  already  mentioned,  supposed  that  the  croco- 
dile was  worshipped  because,  having  no  tongue,  it  was 
a type  of  the  Deity,  who  makes  laws  for  nature  by  his 
mere  will ! This  far-fetched  explanation  shows  an  entire 
misconception  of  savage  nature. 

The  worship  of  animals  is,  however,  susceptible  of  a 
very  simple  explanation,  and  has,  I believe,  really  originated 
from  the  practice  of  naming,  first  individuals,  and  then 
their  families,  after  particular  animals.  A family,  for 
instance,  which  was  called  after  the  bear,  would  come  to 
look  on  that  animal  first  with  interest,  then  with  respect, 
and  at  length  with  a sort  of  awe. 

The  habit  of  calling  children  after  some  animal  or  plant 
is  very  common. 

The  Issinese  of  Guinea  name  their  children  ‘ after  some 


172 


ORIGIN  OF  ANIMAL  WORSHIP. 


beast,  tree,  or  fruit,  according  to  their  fancy.  Sometimes 
they  call  it  after  their  fetich  or  some  white,  who  is  a 
Mingo,  that  is  friend  to  them/1 

The  Hottentots  also  generally  named  their  children  after 
some  animal.2  In  Congo  3 ‘ some  form  of  food  is  forbidden 
to  everyone  : in  some  it  is  a fish,  in  others  a bird,  and  so 
on.  This  is  not,  however,  expressly  stated  to  be  connected 
with  the  totem/ 

In  China  also  the  name  is  frequently  ‘ that  of  a flower, 
animal,  or  such  like  thing/4  In  Australia  we  seem  to  find 
the  totem,  or,  as  it  is  there  called,  kobong,  almost  in  the 
very  moment  of  deification.  Each  family,  says  Sir  G.  Grey,5 
‘ adopts  some  animal  or  vegetable,  as  their  crest  or  sign, 
or  kobong  as  they  call  it.  I imagine  it  more  likely  that 
these  have  been  named  after  the  families,  than  that  the 
families  have  been  named  after  them, 

* A certain  mysterious  connection  exists  between  the 
family  and  its  kobong,  so  that  a member  of  the  family  will 
never  kill  an  animal  of  the  species  to  which  his  kobong 
belongs,  should  he  find  it  asleep ; indeed,  he  always  kills  it 
reluctantly,  and  never  without  affording  it  a chance  of 
escape.  This  arises  from  the  family  belief,  that  some  one 
individual  of  the  species  is  their  nearest  friend,  to  kill 
whom  would  be  a great  crime,  and  to  be  carefully  avoided. 
Similarly  a native  who  has  a vegetable  for  his  kobong,  may 
not  gather  it  under  certain  circumstances,  and  at  a 
particular  period  of  the  year/ 

Here  we  see  a certain  feeling  for  the  kobong  or  totem, 
though  it  does  not  amount  to  worship.6  In  America,  on 

1 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  4 Ibid.  vol.  iv.  p.  91. 

ii.  p.  436.  5 Two  Expeditions  in  Australia,  vol. 

2 Ibid . vcl.  iii.  p.  357.  ii.  p.  228. 

8 Ibid.  p.  282.  6 See  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  328. 


REDSKINS.  KHONDS.  173 

the  other  hand,  it  has  developed  into  a veritable 
religion. 

The  totem  of  the  Redskins,  says  Schoolcraft,1  ‘is  a 
symbol  of  the  name  of  the  progenitor, — generally  some 
quadruped,  or  bird,  or  other  object  in  the  animal  kingdom, 
which  stands,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  as  the  surname  of 
the  family.  It  is  always  some  animated  object,  and  seldom 
or  never  derived  from  the  inanimate  class  of  nature.  Its 
significant  importance  is  derived  from  the  fact,  that 
individuals  unhesitatingly  trace  their  lineage  from  it. 
By  whatever  names  they  may  be  called  during  their  life- 
time, it  is  the  totem,  and  not  their  personal  name,  that  is 
recorded  on  the  tomb,  or  adjedatig,  that  makes  the  place 
of  burial.  Families  are  thus  traced  when  expanded  into 
bands  or  tribes,  the  multiplication  of  which,  in  North 
America,  has  been  very  great,  and  has  increased,  in  like 
ratio,  the  labours  of  the  ethnologist.  The  turtle,  the  bear, 
and  the  wolf  appear  to  have  been  primary  and  honoured 
totems  in  most  of  the  tribes,  and  bear  a significant  rank 
to  the  traditions  of  the  Iroquois  and  Lenapis,  or  Delawares  ; 
and  they  are  believed  to  have  more  or  less  prominency  in 
the  genealogies  of  all  the  tribes  who  are  organised  on  the 
tctemic  principled 

Thus  again  the  Osages2  believe  themselves  to  be  de- 
scended from  a beaver,  and  consequently  will  not  kill  that 
animal. 

So  also  among  the  Khonds  of  India,  the  different  tribes 
‘ take  their  designation  from  various  animals,  as  the  bear 
tribe,  owl  tribe,  deer  tribe,5  &c.  &c. 

The  Kols  of  Nagpore  also  are  divided  into  ‘ keelis  5 or 
clans,  generally  called  after  animals,  which  in  consequence 

1 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  ii.  2 Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  320. 

p.  49.  See  also  Lafitan,  vol.  i.  pp.  464,  3 Early  Races  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii 

467.  P-  495- 


174 


BECHTTANAS. 


they  do  not  eat.  Thus  the  eel,  hawk,  and  heron  tribe 
abstain  respectively  from  the  flesh  of  these  animals.1 

In  Southern  Africa  the  Bechuanas  are  subdivided  into 
men  of  the  crocodile,  men  of  the  fish,  of  the  monkey,  of 
the  buffalo,  of  the  elephant,  porcupine,  lion,  vine,  and  so 
on.  No  one  dares  to  eat  the  flesh,  or  wear  the  skin,  of  the 
animal  to  the  tribe  of  which  he  belongs.  In  this  case 
however,  the  totems  are  not  worshipped.2 

If,  moreover,  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  deity  of  a savage 
is  merely  a being  of  a slightly  different  nature  from— and 
generally  somewhat  more  powerful  than — himself,  we 
shall  at  once  see  that  many  animals,  such  as  the  bear  or 
elephant,  fulfil  in  a great  measure  his  conception  of  a 
Deity. 

This  is  still  more  completely  the  case  with  nocturnal 
animals,  such  as  the  lion  and  tiger,  where  the  effect  is 
heightened  by  a certain  amount  of  mystery.  As  the 
savage  crouching  at  night  by  his  camp  fire,  listens  to 
the  cries  and  roars  of  the  animals  prowling  round,  or 
watches  them  stealing  like  shadows  round  and  round 
among  the  trees,  it  would  surely  be  difficult  for  him  to 
resist  the  feeling  that  there  is  something  mysterious 
about  them  ; and  if  in  his  estimate  of  animals  he  errs  in 
one  direction,  we  perhaps  have  fallen  into  the  opposite 
extreme. 

As  an  object  of  worship,  however,  the  serpent  is  pre- 
eminent among  animals.  Not  only  is  it  malevolent  and 
mysterious,  but  its  bite — so  trifling  in  appearance  and 
yet  so  deadly — producing  fatal  effects,  rapidly,  and  ap- 
parently by  no  adequate  means,  suggests  to  the  savage 
almost  irresistibly  the  notion  of  something  divine,  accord- 
ing to  his  notions  of  divinity.  There  were  also  some 

1 Dalton,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  2 The  Basutos,  Bey.  E.  Oasalis,  p. 

vi.  p.  36.  2U. 


SERPENT-WORSHIP. 


175 


lower,  but  powerful,  considerations  which  tended  greatly 
to  the  development  of  serpent-worship.  The  animal  is 
long-lived  and  easily  kept  in  captivity ; hence  the  same 
individual  might  be  preserved  for  a long  time,  and  easily 
exhibited  at  intervals  to  the  multitude.  In  other  respects 
the  serpent  is  a convenient  god.  Thus  in  Guinea,  where 
the  sea  and  the  serpent  were  the  principal  deities,  the 
priests,  as  Bosnian  expressly  tells  us,  encouraged  offerings 
to  the  serpent  rather  than  to  the  sea,  because,  in  the  latter 
case,  ‘ there  happens  no  remainder  to  be  left  for  them.’1 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Fergusson  for  a special  work  cm 
tree  and  serpent-worship.  I cannot,  however,  agree  with 
my  friend  in  supposing  that  the  beauty  of  the  serpent,  or 
the  brilliancy  of  its  eye,  had  any  part  among  the  causes  of 
its  original  deification.  Nor  do  I believe  that  serpent- wor- 
ship is  to  be  traced  up  to  any  common  local  origin,  but, 
on.  the  contrary,  that  it  sprang  up  spontaneously  in  many 
places,  and  at  very  different  times.  In  considering  the 
wide  distribution  of  serpent-worship,  we  must  remember 
that  in  the  case  of  the  serpent  we  apply  one  name  to  a 
whole  order  of  animals ; and  that  serpents  occur  all  over 
the  world,  except  in  very  cold  regions.  On  the  contrary, 
the  lion,  the  bear,  the  bull,  have  less  extensive  areas,  and 
consequently  their  worship  could  never  be  so  general. 
If,  however,  we  compare,  as  we  ought,  serpent-worship 
with  quadruped-worship,  or  bird- worship,  or  sun-worship, 
we  shall  find  that  it  has  no  exceptionally  wide  area. 

Mr.  Fergusson,  like  previous  writers,  is  surprised  to  find 
that  the  serpent-god  is  frequently  regarded  as  a beneficent 
Being.  Muller,  in  his  Scientific  Mythology,  has  en- 
deavoured to  account  for  this  by  the  statement  that  the 
serpent  typified,  not  only  barren,  impure,  nature,  but  also 
youth  and  health.  This  is  not,  I think,  the  true  explanation. 

1 Pinkerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  000. 


176 


ASIA.  AFRICA. 


It  may  be  the  serpent-god  commenced  as  a malevolent 
being,  wbo  was  flattered,  as  cruel  rulers  always  are,  and 
tliat,  in  process  of  time,  this  flattery,  which  was  at  first  the 
mere  expression  of  fear,  came  to  be  an  article  of  faith. 
If,  moreover,  the  totemic  origin  of  serpent-worship,  as 
above  suggested,  be  the  correct  one,  the  serpent,  like 
other  totemic  deities,  would,  from  its  origin,  have  a benevo- 


lent character. 

As  mentioned  in  Mr.  Fergusson’s  work,  the  serpent  was 
worshipped  anciently  in  Egypt,1  in  India,2  Phoenicia,3 
Babylonia,4  Greece,5  as  well  as  in  Italy,6  where,  however, 
it  seems  not  to  have  prevailed  much. 

We  may  now  pass  onto  those  cases  in  which  the  serpent 
is  now  worshipped,  or  was  so  until  lately.  Among  the 
Lithuanians  ‘ every  family  entertained  a real  serpent  as  a 
household  god/7 

In  Asia  evidence  of  serpent-worship  has  been  found  in 
Persia28  Cashmere,9  Cambodia,  Thibet,10  India,11  China, 
(traces),12  Ceylon,13  and  among  the  Kalmucks.14 

In  Africa  the  serpent  was  worshipped  in  some  parts  of 
Upper  Egypt,15  and  in  Abyssinia.16  Among  the  negroes  on 
the  Guinea  coast  it  used  to  be  the  principal  deity.17 


1 Herodotus,  Euterpe,  74. 

2 Tertullian,  de  Prescript.  Heretico- 
rum,  c.  xlvii.  Epiphanius,  lib.  1, 
Heres,  xxxvii.  p.  267,  et  seq. 

3 Eusebius,  Prse.  Evan.,  vol.  i.  p.  9. 
Maurice,  Ind.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.  p.  273. 

4 Bel  and  the  Dragon,  v.  23. 

5 Pausanias,  vol.  ii.  pp.  137,  175. 
iElian  de  Animal,  xvi.  39.  Herodo- 
tus, viii.  p.  41. 

6 JElian,  Var.  Hist.,  ix.  p.  16.  Pro- 
pertius, Eleg.  viii.  p.  4. 

7 Lord  Karnes’  History  of  Man,  vol. 
iv.  p.  193. 

8 Mogruil,  156,  Windischmann,  37, 
Shah  Nam  eh,  Atkinson’s  Translation, 
p.  14. 

9 Asiatic  Res.  vol.  xv.  pp.  24,  25. 

Ayeen  Akbaree,  Gladwin’s  Trans.,  p. 


137. 

10  Hiouen-Thsang,  vol.  i.  p.  4. 

11  Eergusson’s  Tree  and  Serpent 
Worship,  p.  56. 

12  Ibid.  p.  51. 

13  History  and  Doctrine  of  Buddhism 
in  Ceylon,  Upham. 

14  Klemm,  Cult,  der  Mens.,  vol.  iii. 

p.  202. 

15  Pococke,  Pinkerton’s  Voyages, 
vol.  xv.  p.  269. 

16  Dillmann  in  Zeitsch.  der  Mor- 
genlandischen  Gesells.  vol.  vii.  p.  338. 
Ludolf.  Comment,  vol.  iii.  p.  284  ; 
Bruce’s  Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  35. 

17  Astley’s  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  489 , 
Burton,  vol.  ii.  p.  139  ; Smith,  loc . tit 
p.  195. 


AFRICA. 


177 


Smith,  in  his  Voyage  to  Guinea,1  says  that  the  natives 
6 are  all  Pagans,  and  worship  three  sorts  of  deities.  The 
first  is  a large  beautiful  kind  of  snake,  which  is  inoffensive 
in  its  nature.  These  are  kept  in  fittish-houses,  or  churches, 
built  for  that  purpose  in  a grove,  to  whom  they  sacrifice 
great  store  of  hogs,  sheep,  fowls,  and  goats,  &c.,  and  if 
not  devoured  by  the  snake,  are  sure  to  be  taken  care  of 
by  the  fetish-men  or  pagan  priests.5  Prom  Liberia  to 
Benzuela,  if  not  farther,  the  serpent  was  the  principal 
deity,2  and,  as  elsewhere,  is  regarded  as  being  on  the  whole 
beneficent.  To  it  they  resort  in  times  of  drought  and 
sickness,  or  other  calamities.  No  negro  would  intentionally 
injure  a serpent,  and  anyone  doing  so  by  accident  would 
assuredly  be  put  to  death.  Some  English  sailors  once 
having  killed  one  which  they  found  in  their  house,  were 
furiously  attacked  by  the  natives,  who  killed  them  all,  and 
burned  the  house.  All  over  the  country  are  small  hats, 
built  on  purpose  for  the  snakes,3  which  are  attended  and 
fed  by  old  women.  These  snakes  are  frequently  consulted 
as  oracles. 

In  addition  to  these  small  huts  were  temples,  which, 
judged  by  a negro  standard,  were  of  considerable  magni- 
ficence,4 with  large  courts,  spacious  apartments,  and 
numerous  attendants.  Each  of  these  temples  had  a 
special  snake.  That  of  Whydah  was  supposed  to  have 
appeared  to  the  army  during  an  attack  on  Ardra.  It  was 
regarded  as  a presage  of  victory,  which  so  encouraged  the 
soldiers  that  they  were  perfectly  successful.  Hence  this 
fetich  was  reverenced  beyond  all  others,  and  an  annual 
pilgrimage  was  made  to  its  temple  with  much  ceremony. 
It  is  rather  suspicious  that  any  young  women  who  may  be 

1 Smith’s  Voyage  to  Guinea,  p.  195.  Smith,  loc.  cit.  p.  195. 

See  also  Bosnian,  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  3 Astley,  loc.  cit.  pp.  27,  32. 
rol.  xvi.  p.  494,  et  seq.  4 Ibid.  p.  29. 

2 Bosnian,  loc.  cit.  pp.  494-499. 

9 


178 


AFRICA. 


ill  are  taken  off  to  the  snake’s  house  to  be  cured.  For  this 
questionable  service  the  attendants  charge  a high  price  to 
the  parents. 

Fig.  19. 


It  is  observable  that  the  harmless  snakes  only  are  thus 
worshipped.  ‘ Agoye,’  the  fetich  of  Whydah,  which  has 


MADAGASCAR.  POLYNESIA.  AMERICA. 


179 


serpents  and  lizards  coming  out  of  its  head1  (fig.  19), 
presents  a remarkable  similarity  to  some  of  the  Hindoo 
idols. 

The  Kaffirs  of  South  Africa  have  a general  belief  that 
the  spirits  of  their  ancestors  appear  to  them  in  the  form  of 
serpents.2 

Ellis  mentions  that  in  Madagascar  the  natives  regard 
them  6 with  a sort  of  superstition/  3 

In  Eeejee,  ‘ the  god 4 most  generally  known  is  Ndengei, 
who  seems  to  be  an  impersonation  of  the  abstract  idea  of 
eternal  existence.  He  is  the  subject  of  no  emotion  or 
sensation,  nor  any  appetite  except  hunger.  The  serpent — 
the  world-wide  symbol  of  eternity — is  his  adopted  shrine. 
Some  traditions  represent  him  with  the  head  and  part  of 
the  body  of  that  reptile,  the  rest  of  his  form  being  stone, 
emblematic  of  everlasting  and  unchangeable  duration. 
He  passes  a monotonous  existence  in  a gloomy  cavern ; 
evincing  no  interest  in  anyone  but  his  attendant,  Uto, 
and  giving  no  signs  of  life  beyond  eating,  answering  his 
priest,  and  changing  his  position  from  one  side  to  the 
other/ 

In  the  Friendly  Islands  the  water  snake  was  much 
respected.5 

In  America  serpents  were  worshipped  by  the  Aztecs,6 
Peruvians,7  Natchez,8  Caribs,9  Monitarris,10  Mandans,11  &c. 

Alvarez,  during  his  attempt  to  reach  Peru  from  Paraguay, 


1 Astley,  loc.  cit.  vol.  iii.  p.  50. 

2 Casalis’  Basutos,  p.  246.  Chap- 
• man’s  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  195.  Calla- 
way’s Religious  System  of  the  Ama- 
zulu. 

3 Three  Visits  to  Madagascar,  p. 

143. 

4 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  ii.  p.  217. 

5 Mariner,  vol.  ii.  p.  106. 

6 Squier’s  Serpent  Symbol  in  Ame- 


rica, p.  162.  Gama,  Descripcion  His- 
torica  y Cronologica  de  las  Pedras  do 
Mexico,  1832,  p.  39 ; Bernal  Diaz,  p. 
125. 

7 Muller,  Ges.  d.  Amer.  Urreligi- 
onen,  p.  366. 

8 Ibid.  p.  62. 

9 Ibid.  p.  221. 

10  Klemm,  vol.  ii  p.  162. 

11  Ibid.  p.  163. 


180 


THE  WORSHIP  OF  OTHER  ANIMALS. 


is  reported1  to  have  seen  the  c temple  and  residence  of  a 
monstrous  serpent,  whom  the  inhabitants  had  chosen  for 
their  divinity,  and  fed  with  human  flesh.  He  was  as  thick 
as  an  ox,  and  seven- and- twenty  feet  long,  with  a very 
large  head,  and  very  fierce  though  small  eyes.  His  jaws, 
when  extended,  displayed  two  ranks  of  crooked  fangs. 
The  whole  body,  except  the  tail  which  was  smooth,  was 
covered  with  round  scales  of  a great  thickness.  The 
Spaniards,  though  they  could  not  be  persuaded  by  the 
Indians  that  this  monster  delivered  oracles,  were  exceed- 
ingly terrified  at  the  first  sight  of  him ; and  their  terror 
was  greatly  increased,  when,  on  one  of  them  having  fired 
a blunderbuss  at  him,  he  gave  a roar  like  that  of  a lion, 
and  with  a stroke  of  his  tail  shook  the  whole  tower.’ 

The  worship  of  serpents  being  so  widely  distributed, 
and  presenting  so  many  similar  features,  we  cannot  won- 
der that  it  has  been  regarded  as  something  special,  that 
attempts  have  been  made  to  trace  it  up  to  one  source,  and 
that  it  has  been  regarded  by  some  as  the  primitive  re- 
ligion of  man. 

I will  now,  however,  proceed  to  mention  other  cases  of 
zoolatry. 

Animal  worship  was  very  prevalent  in  America.2  The 
Redskins  reverenced  the  bear,3  the  bison,  the  hare,4  and 
the  wolf,5  and  some  species  of  birds.6  The  jaguar  was 
worshipped  in  some  parts  of  Brazil,  and  especially  in  La 
Plata.7  In  South  America  birds  and  jaguars  seem  to  have 
been  the  specially  sacred  animals.  The  owl  in  Mexico 
was  regarded  as  an  evil  spirit  f in  South  America  eagles 

1 Charlevoix’s  History  of  Paraguay,  5 Muller,  loc.  cit.  p.  257. 

vol.  i.  p.  110.  6 Muller,  Am.  Urr.,p.  134.  Klcmm 

2 Muller,  Am.  Urr.,  p.  60,  et  seq.  loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  164. 

3 Ibid.  p.  61.  7 Loc.  cit.  p.  256. 

4 Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  316.  8 Prescott,  vol.  i.  p.  48. 


AMERICA. 


181 


and  goatsuckers  were  much  venerated.1 2  The  Abipones 
think  that  certain  little  ducks  ‘which  fly  about  at  night, 
uttering  a mournful  hiss,  are  the  souls  of  the  departed.’ 

In  Yucatan  it  was  customary  to  leave  an  infant  alone  in 
a place  sprinkled  with  ashes.  Next  morning  the  ashes 
were  examined,  and  if  the  footprints  of  any  animals  were 
found  on  them,  that  animal  was  chosen  as  the  deity  of  the 
infant.3 

The  semi-civilised  races  of  Mexico4  and  Peru  were  more 
advanced  in  their  religious  conceptions.  In  the  latter  the 
sun  was  the  great  deity.5  Yet  in  Peru,6  even  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  many  species  of  animals  were  still  much 
reverenced,  including  the  fox,  dog,  llama,  condor,  eagle, 
and  puma,  besides  the  serpent.  Indeed,  every  species 
of  animal  was  supposed  to  have  a representative,  or  arche- 
type, in  heaven.7  In  Mexico  a similar  feeling  prevailed, 
but  neither  here  nor  in  Peru  can  it  truly  be  said  that  ani- 
mals at  the  time  of  the  conquest  were  nationally  regarded 
as  actual  deities. 

The  Polynesians,  also,  had  generally  advanced  beyond 
the  stage  of  Totemism.  The  heavenly  bodies  were  not 
worshipped,  and  when  animals  were  regarded  with  ven- 
eration, it  was  rather  as  representatives  of  the  deities, 
than  with  idea  that  they  were  really  deities.  Still  the 
Tahitians 8 had  a superstitious  reverence  for  various  kinds 
of  fish  and  birds ; such  as  the  heron,  kingfisher,  and 
woodpecker,  the  latter  apparently  because  they  frequented 
the  temples. 

The  Sandwich  Islanders9  seem  to  have  regaided  the  raven 

1 Muller,  Amer.  Urr.,  p.  237.  8 Muller,  p.  366. 

2 Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  74.  7 Prescott’s  History  of  Peru,  p.  87. 

3 He  Brosses,  Hu  Culte  des  Hieux  8 Polynesian  Researches,  yoL  ii.  p. 

Fetiches,  p.  46.  202. 

4 Miiller,  loc.  cit.  p.  481.  9 Cook’s  Third  Voyage,  vol.  iii.  p. 

5 Prescott’s  History  of  Peru,  p.  88.  160. 


182 


PACIFIC  ISLANDS.  SIBERIA. 


as  sacred,  and  the  New  Zealanders,  according  to  Forster, 
regarded  a species  of  tree-creeper  as  the  6 bird  of  the 
divinity/ 1 The  Tongans  considered  that  the  deities  ‘ some- 
times come  into  the  living  bodies  of  lizards,  porpoises,  and 
a species  of  water  snake ; hence  these  animals  are  nruch 
respected/2 

The  Bishop  of  Wellington  informs  ns  that  6 spiders  were 
special  objects  of  reverence  to  Maoris,  and  as  the  priests 
further  told  them  that  the  sonls  of  the  faithful  went  to 
heaven  on  gossamer  threads,  they  were  very  careful  not  to 
break  any  spiders’  webs,  or  gossamers.  Lizards  were 
also  supposed  to  be  chosen  by  the  Maori  gods  as  favourite 
abodes/  3 

In  the  Feejee4  Islands,  besides  the  serpent, 6 certain  birds, 
fish  and  plants,  and  some  men,  are  supposed  to  have  deities 
closely  connected  with  or  residing  in  them.  At  Lakemba, 
Tui  Lakemba,  and  on  Yanua  Levu,  Bavuravu,  claim  the 
hawk  as  their  abode ; Yiavia,  and  other  gods  the  shark. 
One  is  supposed  to  inhabit  the  eel,  and  another  the  common 
fowl,  and  so  on,  until  nearly  every  animal  becomes  the 
shrine  of  some  deity.  He  who  worships  the'  god  dwelling 
in  the  eel  must  never  eat  of  that  fish,  and  thus  of  the  rest ; 
so  that  some  are  Tabu  from  eating  human  flesh,  because 
the  shrine  of  their  god  is  a man/ 

In  Siberia  Erman  mentions  that  ‘the  Polar  bear,  as 
the  strongest  of  God’s  creatures,  and  that  which  seems  to 
come  nearest  to  the  human  being,  is  as  much  venerated 
by  the  Samoyedes,  as  his  black  congener  by  the  Ostyaks. 
They  even  swear  by  the  throat  of  this  strong  animal,  whom 
they  kill  and  eat ; but  when  it  is  once  killed,  they  show 
their  respect  for  it  in  various  ways.’ 5 

1 Voyage  round  the  World,  vol.  i.  4 Williams’  Fiji  and  the  Fijians^ 

p.  519.  vol.  i.  p.  219. 

2 Mariner,  loo.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  106.  5 Erman,  vol.  ii.  p.  55. 

8 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  867. 


INDIA.  AFRICA.  MADAGASCAR. 


183 


Each  tribe  of  the  Jakuts  ‘ looks  oh  some  particular 
creature  as  sacred,  e.g.,  a swan,  goose,  raven,  &c.,  and 
such  is  not  eaten  by  that  tribe,  though  the  others  may  eat 
it/1  The  same  feeling  extends  even  to  plants,  and  in 
China,  when  the  sacred  apricot  tree  is  broken  to  make  the 
spirit  pen,  it  is  customary  to  write  an  apology  on  the  bark.2 

The  Hindus,  says  Dubois,3  ‘ in  all  things  extravagant, 
pay  honour  and  worship,  less  or  more  solemn,  to  almost 
every  living  creature,  whether  quadruped,  bird,  or  reptile/ 
The  cow,  the  ape,  the  eagle  (known  as  garuda),  and  the 
serpent,  receive  the  highest  honours ; but  the  tiger,  ele- 
phant, horse,  stag,  sheep,  hog,  dog,  cat,  rat,  peacock,  cock, 
chameleon,  lizard,  tortoise,  fish,  and  even  insects,  have 
been  made  objects  of  worship. 

The  ox  is  held  especially  sacred  throughout  most  of 
India  and  Ceylon.  Among  the  Todas 4 the  6 buffaloes  and 
bell  are  fused  into  an  incomprehensible  mystic  whole,  or 
unity,  and  constitute  their  prime  object  of  adoration  and 
worship.’  .... 

‘ Towards  evening  the  herd  is  driven  back  to  the  tuel, 
when  such  of  the  male  and  female  members  of  the  family 
as  are  present  assemble,  and  make  obeisance  to  the  ani- 
mals.’ The  goose  is  worshipped  in  Ceylon,5  and  the 
alligator  in  the  Philippines. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  were  greatly  addicted  to  animal’ 
worship,  and  even  now  Sir  S.  Baker  states  that  on  the 
White  Nile  the  natives  will  not  eat  the  ox.6  The  common 
fowl  also  is  connected  with  superstitious  ceremonies  among 
the  Obbo  and  other  Nile  tribes.7 

The  King  of  Ardra,  on  the  Guinea  Coast,  had  certain 

1 Strahlenberg,  p.  383.  250,  253.  See  also  Ethn.  Journ.  1869, 

2 Tylor,  Roy.  Inst.  Journ.,  yol.  y.  p.  97. 

p.  527.  5 Tennent’s  Ceylon,  yol.  i.  p.  484. 

3 Loc.  cit.  p.  445.  6 Albert  N’yanza,  yol.  i.  p.  69. 

4 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.voI.  yii.pp.  7 Baker,  loc . cit.  yol.  i.  p.  327. 


184 


THE  CUSTOM  OF  APOLOGISING 


black  birds  for  bis  fetiches,1  and  the  negroes  of  Benin  also 
reverence  several  kinds  of  birds. 

The  negroes  of  Guinea  regard  2 e the  sword-fish  and  the 
bonito  as  deities,  and  such  is  their  veneration  for  them, 
that  they  never  catch  either  sort  designedly.  If  a sword-fish 
happen  to  be  taken  by  chance,  they  will  not  eat  it,  till  the 
sword  be  cut  off,  which,  when  dried,  they  regard  as  a fetis- 
so.’  They  also  regard  the  crocodile  as  a deity.  On  the  Guinea 
Coast,  says  Bosman,  ‘ a great  part  of  the  negroes  believe 
that  man  was  made  by  Anansie,  that  is,  a great  spider/  3 

In  Madagascar,  Ellis  4 tells  us  that  the  natives  regard 
crocodiles  6 as  possessed  of  supernatural  power,  invoke 
their  forbearance  with  prayers,  or  seek  protection  by 
charms,  rather  than  attack  them ; even  the  shaking  of  a 
spear  over  the  waters  would  be  regarded  as  an  act  of 
sacrilegious  insult  to  the  sovereign  of  the  flood,  imperilling 
the  life  of  the  offender  the  next  time  he  should  venture 
on  the  water/ 

The  nations  of  Southern  Europe  had  for  the  most  part  ad- 
vanced beyond  animal  worship  even  in  the  earliest  histori- 
cal times.  The  extraordinary  sanctity  attributed,  in  the 
Twelfth  Odyssey,  to  the  oxen  of  the  sun,  stands  almost 
alone  in  Greek  mythology,  and  is  regarded  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone as  of  Phoenician  origin.  It  is  true  that  the  horse  is 
spoken  of  with  mysterious  respect,  and  that  deities  on 
several  occasions  assumed  the  form  of  birds  ; but  this  does 
not  amount  to  actual  worship. 

The  deification  of  animals  explains  probably  the  curious 
fact  that  various  savage  races  habitually  apologise  to  the 
animals  which  they  kill  in  the  chase ; thus,  the  Vogulitzi5 

1 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  4 Three  Visits  to  Madagascar,  p. 

iii.  pp.  72,  99.  297. 

2 Astley,  yoI.  ii.  p.  667.  5 Strahlenberg’s  Voyage  to  Siberia, 

3 Pinkerton,  loo,  cit . vol.  xvi.  p.  p.  97. 

396. 


TO  ANIMALS  FOR  KILLING  THEM. 


185 


of  Siberia,  when  they  have  killed  a bear,  address  it 
formally,  and  maintain  c that  the  blame  is  to  be  laid  on 
the  arrows  and  iron,  which  were  made  and  forged  by  the 
Russians/  Pallas1  narrates  a similar  action  on  the  part  of 
an  Qstyak.  Schoolcraft2  mentions  a case  of  an  Indian  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  begging  pardon  of  a bear 
which  he  had  shot. 

Before  engaging  in  a hunt  the  Chippeways  have  a 
6 medicine  5 dance  in  order  to  propitiate  the  spirits  of  the 
bears  or  other  game.3  So  also  in  British  Columbia,4  when 
the  fishing  season  commences,  and  the  fish  begin  coming 
up  the  rivers,  the  Indians  used  to  meet  them,  and  c speak 
to  them.  They  paid  court  to  them,  and  would  address 
them  thus  : 66  You  fish,  you  fish ; you  are  all  chiefs,  you 
are  ; you  are  all  chiefs.”  5 

The  Koussa  Kaffirs 5 had  a very  similar  custom. 
4 Before  a party  goes  out  hunting,  a very  odd  ceremony 
or  sport  takes  place,  which  they  consider  as  absolutely 
necessary  to  ensure  success  to  the  undertaking.  One  of 
them  takes  a handful  of  grass  into  his  mouth,  and  crawls 
about  upon  all- fours  to  represent  some  sort  of  game.  The 
rest  advance  as  if  they  would  run  him  through  with  their 
spears,  raising  the  hunting  cry,  till  at  length  he  falls  upon 
the  ground  as  if  dead.  If  this  man  afterwards  kills  a 
head  of  game,  he  hangs  a claw  upon  his  arm  as  a trophy, 
but  the  animal  must  be  shared  with  the  rest/  Lichtenstein 
also  mentions  that  if  an  elephant  is  killed  after  a very 
long  and  wearisome  chase,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  they 
seek  to  exculpate  themselves  towards  the  dead  animal, 
by  declaring  to  him  solemnly,  that  the  thing  happened 
entirely  by  accident,  not  by  design/6  To  make  the 

1 Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  85.  4 Metlahkatlah,  p.  96. 

2 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  5 Lichtenstein’s  Travels,  vol.  i.  p* 

iii.  p.  229.  269. 

£ Catlin’s  Amer.  Ind.  vol.  ii.  p.  248.  6 Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  254. 


18  G 


CAMBODIA.  SUMATEA.  SIBEEIA. 


apology  more  completely  they  cut  off  the  trunk  and  bury 
it  carefully  with  much  flattery. 

Speaking  of  a Mandingo  who  had  killed  a lion,  Gray 
says : ‘ As 1 I was  not  a little  surprised  at  seeing  the  man, 
whom  I conceived  ought  to  be  rewarded  for  having  first 
so  disabled  the  animal  as  to  prevent  it  from  attacking  us, 
thus  treated,  I requested  an  explanation ; and  was  in- 
formed that  being  a subject  only,  he  was  guilty  of  a great 
crime  in  killing  or  shooting  a sovereign,  and  must  suffer 
this  punishment  until  released  by  the  chiefs  of  the  village 
who,  knowing  the  deceased  to  have  been  their  enemy, 
would  not  only  do  so  immediately,  but  commend  the  man 
for  his  good  conduct.  I endeavoured  to  no  purpose  to 
find  out  the  origin  of  this  extraordinary  mock  ceremony, 
but  could  only  gain  the  answer,  frequently  given  by  an 
African,  66  that  his  forefathers  had  always  done  so/’  ’ 

The  Stiens  of  Cambodia2  believe  that  ‘ animals  also 
have  souls  which  wander  about  after  their  death;  thus, 
when  they  have  killed  one,  fearing  lest  its  soul  should 
come  and  torment  them,  they  ask  pardon  for  the  evil  they 
have  done  to  it,  and  offer  sacrifices  proportioned  to  the 
strength  and  size  of  the  animal.’ 

The  Sumatrans  speak  of  tigers3  c with  a degree  of  awe, 
and  hesitate  to  call  them  by  their  common  name  (rimau 
or  machang),  terming  them  respectfully  satwa  (the  wild 
animals),  or  even  nenek  (ancestors) ; as  really  believing 
them  such,  or  by  way  of  soothing  and  coaxing  them. 
When  an  European  procures  traps  to  be  set,  by  means 
of  persons  less  superstitious,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighbourhood  have  been  known  to  go  at  night  to  the 
place,  and  practise  some  forms,  in  order  to  persuade  the 
animals  that  it  was  not  laid  by  them,  or  with  their  consent.’ 

1 G-ray’s  Travels  in  Western  Africa,  Parts  of  Indo-China,  vol.  i.  p.  252. 

p.  143  3 Marsden’s  Hist,  of  Sumatra,  p 

2 Mouliot’s  Travels  in  the  Central  292. 


THE  WORSHIP  OP  INANIMATE  OBJECTS.  187 

Tlie  deification  of  inanimate  objects  is  perhaps  some- 
what more  difficult  to  understand  than  that  of  animals. 
The  names  of  individuals,  however,  would  be  taken  not 
only  from  animals,  but  also  from  inanimate  objects,  and 
would  thus,  as  suggested  at  p.  171,  lead  to  the  worship  of 
the  latter  as  well  as  of  the  former.  Some  of  them,  moreover, 
are  singularly  lifelike.  No  one,  I think,  can  wonder  that 
rivers  should  have  been  regarded  as  alive.  The  constant 
movement,  the  ripples  and  eddies  on  their  surface,  the 
vibrations  of  the  reeds  and  other  water  plants  growing  in 
them,  the  murmuring  and  gurgling  sounds,  the  clearness 
and  transparency  of  the  water,  combine  to  produce  a 
singular  effect  on  the  mind  even  of  civilised  man. 

The  savage  also  is  susceptible  to  such  influences,  and  is 
naturally  prone  to  personify  not  only  rivers  but  also  other 
inanimate  objects. 

Seneca  long  ago  observed,  that  ‘ if  you  walk  in  a grove, 
thick  planted  with  ancient  trees  of  unusual  growth,  the 
interwoven  boughs  of  which  exclude  the  light  of  heaven ; 
the  vast  height  of  the  wood,  the  retired  secrecy  of  the 
place,  the  deep  unbroken  gloom  of  shade,  impress  your 
mind  with  the  conviction  of  a present  deity/ 

Again,  who  can  wonder  at  that  worship  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  which  has  been  regarded  as  a special 
form  of  religion,  and  is  known  as  Sabseism  ? It  does  not 
however,  in  its  original  form,  essentially  differ  from 
mountain  or  river  worship.  To  us  with  our  knowledge 
of  the  sun,  it  seems  naturally  a more  sublime  form 
of  religion,  but  we  must  remember  that  the  lower  races 
who  worship  the  heavenly  bodies  have  no  idea  of  their  dis- 
tance, nor  consequently  of  their  magnitude.  Hence  the 
curious  ideas  with  reference  to  eclipses  which  I have 
already  mentioned  (p.  136).  Again,  the  New  Zealanders 
believed  that  Mawe,  their  ancestor,  caught  the  sun  in  a 


188 


SAVAGE  TENDENCY  TO  DEIFICATION. 


noose,  and  wounded  it  so  severely  that  its  movements 
have  been  slower,  and  the  days  consequently  longer,  ever 
since.1 

According  to  another  account,  Mawe  ‘ tied  a string  to 
the  sun  and  fastened  it  to  the  moon,  that  as  the  former 
went  down,  the  other,  being  pulled  after  it  by  the  superior 
power  of  the  sun,  may  rise  and  give  light  during  his 
absence.’ 2 

We  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  the  savage  notion  of 
a deity  is  essentially  different  from  that  entertained  by 
higher  races.  Instead  of  being  supernatural,  he  is  merely 
a part  of  nature.  This  goes  far  to  explain  the  tendency 
to  deification  which  at  first  seems  so  strange. 

A good  illustration,  and  one  which  shows  how  easily 
deities  are  created  by  men  in  this  frame  of  mind,  is  men- 
tioned by  Lichtenstein.  The  king  of  the  Koussa  Kaffirs 
having  broken  off  a piece  of  a stranded  anchor,  died 
soon  afterwards,  upon  which  all  the  Kaffirs  looked  upon 
the  anchor  as  alive,  and  saluted  it  respectfully  whenever 
they  passed  near  it.3  Again,  the  natives  near  Sydney 
made  it  an  invariable  rule  never  to  whistle  when  beneath 
a particular  cliff,  because  on  one  occasion  a rock  fell  from 
it  and  crushed  some  natives  who  were  whistling  under- 
neath it.4 

A very  interesting  case  is  recorded  by  Mr.  Fergusson.5 
‘ The  following  instance  of  tree-worship,’  he  says,  { which 
I myself  witnessed,  is  amusing,  even  if  npt  instruc- 
tive. While  residing  in  Tessore,  I observed  at  one 
time  considerable  crowds  passing  near  the  factory  I then 
had  charge  of.  As  it  might  be  merely  an  ordinary  fair 
they  were  going  to  attend,  I took  no  notice ; but  as  the 

1 Polynesian  Mythology,  p.  35.  4 Collins’s  English  Colony  in  N.S. 

2 Yate,  loc.  cit . p.  143.  Wales,  p.  382. 

8 Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  254.  5 Tree  and  Serpent  Worship,  p.  74 


LIFE  ATTRIBUTED  TO  INANIMATE  OBJECTS#  189 

crowd  grew  daily  larger,  and  assumed  a more  religious 
character,  I enquired,  and  was  told  that  a god  had  appeared 
in  a tree  at  a place  about  six  miles  off.  Next  morning  I 
rode  over,  and  found  a large  space  cleared  in  a village  I 
knew  well,  in  the  centre  of  which  stood  an  old  decayed 
date  tree,  hung  with  garlands  and  offerings.  Around  it 
houses  were  erected  for  the  attendant  Brahmins,  and  a 
great  deal  of  business  was  going  on  in  offerings  and  Puja. 
On  my  enquiring  how  the  god  manifested  his  presence,  I 
was  informed  that  soon  after  the  sun  rose  in  the  morning 
the  tree  raised  its  head  to  welcome  him,  and  bowed  it  down 
again  when  he  departed.  As  this  was  a miracle  easily 
tested,  I returned  at  noon  and  found  it  was  so  ! After  a 
little  study  and  investigation,  the  mystery  did  not  seem 
difficult  of  explanation.  The  tree  had  originally  grown 
across  the  principal  pathway  through  the  village,  but  at 
last  hung  so  low,  that  in  order  to  enable  people  to  pass 
under  it,  it  had  been  turned  aside  and  fastened  parallel  to 
the  road.  In  the  operation  the  bundle  of  fibres  which 
composed  the  root  had  become  twisted  like  the  strands  of 
a rope.  When  the  morning  sun  struck  on  the  upper 
surface  of  these,  they  contracted  in  drying,  and  hence  a 
tendency  to  untwist,  which  raised  the  head  of  the  tree. 
With  the  evening  dews  they  relaxed,  and  the  head  of  the 
tree  declined,  thus  proving  to  the  man  of  science  as  to  the 
credulous  Hindu,  that  it  was  due  to  the  direct  action  of 
the  Sun  God.5 

The  savage,  indeed,  accounts  for  all  movement  by  life. 
Hence  the  wind  is  a living  being.  Nay,  even  motionless 
objects  are  regarded  in  a particular  stage  of  mental  pro- 
gress as  possessing  spirits.  The  chief  of  Teah  could 
hardly  be  persuaded  but  that  Lander’s  watch  was  alive  and 
had  the  power  of  moving.1  It  is  probably  for  this  reason 
that  in  most  languages  inanimate  objects  are  distinguished 
1 Niger  Expedition,  vol.  ii,  p.  220. 


190  SOULS  ATTRIBUTED  TO  INANIMATE  OBJECTS. 

by  genders,  being  at  first  regarded  as  either  male  or  female. 
Hence  also  the  practice  of  breaking  or  burning  the 
weapons,  &c.  buried  with  the  dead.  It  has  been  gener- 
ally supposed  that  this  was  merely  to  prevent  them  from 
being  a temptation  to  robbers.  This  is  not  so,  how- 
ever; savages  do  not  invade  the  sanctity  of  the  tomb* 
Just,  however,  as  they  kill  a man’s  wives  and  slaves,  and 
favourite  horse,  that  they  may  accompany  him  to  the 
other  world,  so  do  they  ‘ kill ’ the  weapons,  that  the  spirits 
of  the  bows,  &c.  may  also  go  with  their  master,  and  that  he 
may  enter  the  other  world  armed  'and  provided  as  a chief 
should  be.  Thus  the  Tahitians1  believed  ‘ that  not  only  all 
other  animals,  but  trees,  fruit,  and  even  stones,  have  souls 
which  at  death,  or  upon  being  consumed,  or  broken,  ascend 
to  the  divinity,  with  whom  they  first  mix,  and  afterwards 
pass  into  the  mansion  allotted  to  each.’ 

The  Feejeeans2  considered  that  ‘ if  an  animal  or  a plant 
die,  its  soul  immediately  goes  to  Bolotoo ; if  a stone  or 
any  other  substance  is  broken,  immortality  is  equally  its 
reward ; nay,  artificial  bodies  have  equal  good  luck  with 
men  and  hogs,  and  yams.  If  an  axe  or  a chisel  is  worn 
out  or  broken  up,  away  flies  its  soul  for  the  service  of  the 
gods.  If  a house  is  taken  down,  or  any  way  destroyed,  its 
immortal  part  will  find  a situation  on  the  plains  of  Bolotoo.’ 

Sproat,3  speaking  of  N.  W.  America,  says,  that  ‘when 
the  dead  are  buried,  the  friends  often  burn  blankets  with 
them,  for  by  destroying  the  blankets  in  this  upper  world, 
they  send  them  also  with  the  departed  soul  to  the  world 
below.’ 

In  China,4  ‘ if  the  dead  man  was  a person  of  note,  the 
Bonzes  make  great  processions;  the  mourners  following 
them  with  candles  and  perfumes  burning  in  their  hands. 

1 Cook’s  Third  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  3 Sproat’s  Scenes  and  Studies  of 

166.  Savage  Life,  p.  213. 

2 Mariner,  loc . cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  137.  4 Astley,  vol.  iv.  p.  94. 


FIGURATIVE  LANGUAGE  OF  SAVAGES. 


191 


Tliey  offer  sacrifices  at  certain  distances,  and  perform  the 
obsequies  5 in  which  they  bum  statues  of  men,  women, 
horses,  saddles,  and  other  things,  and  abundance  of  paper 
money  : all  which,  they  believe,  in  the  next  life,  are  con- 
verted into  real  ones,  for  the  use  of  the  party  deceased.5 

Thus  then  by  man  in  this  stage  of  progress  everything 
was  regarded  as  having  life,  and  being  more  or  less  a Deity. 

In  India,  says  Dubois,1  c a woman  adores  the  basket 
which  serves  to  bring  or  to  hold  her  necessaries,  and  offers 
sacrifices  to  it ; as  well  as  to  the  rice-mill,  and  other  im- 
plements that  assist  her  in  her  household  labours.  A 
carpenter  does  the  like  homage  to  his  hatchet,  his  adze, 
and  other  tools ; and  likewise  offers  sacrifices  to  them.  A 
Brahman  does  so  to  the  style  with  which  he  is  going  to 
write ; a soldier  to  the  arms  he  is  to  use  in  the  field ; a 
mason  to  his  trowel,  and  a labourer  to  his  plough.5 

Sir  S.  Baker2  says,  ‘ Should  the  present  history  of  the 
country  be  written  by  an  Arab  scribe,  the  style  of  the  de- 
scription would  be  purely  that  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
the  various  calamities  or  the  good  fortunes  that  have  in  the 
course  of  nature  befallen  both  the  tribes  and  the  individ- 
uals, would  be  recounted  either  as  special  visitations  of 
Divine  wrath,  or  blessings  for  good  deeds  performed.  If 
in  a dream  a particular  course  of  action  is  suggested,  the 
Arab  believes  that  God  has  spoken  and  directed  him.  The 
Arab  scribe  or  historian  would  describe  the  event  as  the 
66  voice  f)f  the  Lord 55  (Kallam  el  Allah)  having  spoken  unto 
the  person : or,  that  God  appeared  to  him  in  a dream  and 
“ said , &c”  Thus,  much  allowance  would  be  necessary,  on 
the  part  of  a European  reader,  for  the  figurative  ideas  and 
expressions  of  the  people.5 

Mr.  Eergusson,  indeed,  regards  tree-worship,  in  associa- 

1 People  of  India,  p.  373.  See  also  2 The  Nile  Tributaries  of  Abyssinia, 
pp.  383,  386.  by  Sir  S.  W.  Baker,  p.  130. 


192 


TREE-WORSHIP. 


fcion  with,  serpent-worship,  as  the  primitive  faith  of  man- 
kind. Mr.  Wake1  also  says,  ‘ How  are  we  to  account  for  the 
Polynesians  also  affixing  a sacred  character  to  a species  of 
the  banyan,  called  by  them  the  ava  tree,  and  for  the  same 
phenomenon  being  found  among  the  African  tribes  on  the 
Zambesi  and  the  Shire,  among  the  negroes  of  Western 
equatorial  Africa,  and  even  in  Northern  Australia?  Such 
a fact  as  this  cannot  be  accounted  for  as  a mere  coinci- 
dence.5 

Since,  however,  tree-worship  equally  prevails  in  America, 
we  cannot  regard  it  as  any  6 evidence  of  the  common  origin 
of  the  various  races  which  practise 5 it.  It  is,  however,  one 
among  many  illustrations  that  the  human  mind,  in  its  up- 
ward progress,  everywhere  passes  through  the  same  or  very 
similar  phases. 

Tree-worship  formerly  existed  in  Assyria,  Greece,2 
Poland, 3 Prance.  In  Persia  the  Homa  or  Soma  worship 
was  perhaps  a case  in  point ; Tacitus 4 mentions  the  sacred 
groves  of  Germany,  and  those  of  England  are  familiar  to 
everyone.  In  the  eighth  century,  St.  Boniface  found  it 
necessary  to  cut  down  a sacred  oak,  and  even  recently  an 
oak  copse  at  Loch  Siant,  in  the  Isle  of  Skye,  was  held  so 
sacred  that  no  person  would  venture  to  cut  the  smallest 
branch  from  it.5 

At  the  present  day  tree-worship  prevails  throughout 
Central  Africa,  south  of  Egypt  and  the  Sahara.  The 
Shangallas  in  Bruce’s6  time  worshipped  ‘ trees,  sSrpents 
the  moon,  planets,  and  stars.5 

The  negroes  of  Guinea7  worshipped  three  deities, 

1 Chapters  on  Man,  p.  250.  6 Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  35.  See  also 

2 Baum  cultus  der  Hellenen,  Bot-  vol.  vi.  p.  344. 

tidier.  1856.  7 Voyage  to  Guinea,  p.  195.  Bos- 

3 Olaus  Magnus,  bk.  iii.  Ch.  I.  man,  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  vol.  xvi. 

4 Tacitus,  Germania,  ix.  p.  494.  Merolla,  Pinkerton’s  Voyages, 

5 Early  Races  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.  vol.  xvi.  p.  236. 
p.  171. 


AFRICA.  INDIA.  CEYLON. 


193 

— serpents,  trees,  and  the  sea.  Park1  observed  a tree  on 
the  confines  of  Bondou,  hung  with  innumerable  offerings, 
principally  rags.  c It  had/  he  says  ‘ a very  singular 
appearance,  being  decorated  with  innumerable  rags  or 
strips  of  cloth,  which  persons  travelling  across  the  wilder- 
ness had  tied  to  the  branches.5 

Chapman  mentions  a sacred  tree  among  the  Kaffirs, 
which  was  hung  with  numerous  offerings.2 

The  negroes  of  Congo3  adored  a sacred  tree  called 
‘Mirrone.5  One  is  generally  planted  near  the  houses,  as 
if  it  were  the  tutular  god  of  the  dwelling,  the  Gentiles 
adoring  it  as  one  of  their  idols.  They  place  calabashes  of 
palm  wine  at  the  feet  of  these  trees,  in  case  they  should 
be  thirsty.  Bosman  also  states  that  along  the  Guinea 
coast  almost  every  village  has  its  sacred  grove.4  At 
Addacoodah,  Oldfield5  saw  a c gigantic  tree,  twelve  yards 
and  eight  inches  in  circumference.  I soon  found  it  was 
considered  sacred,  and  had  several  arrows  stuck  in  it, 
from  which  were  suspended  fowls,  several  sorts  of  birds, 
and  many  other  things,  which  had  been  offered  by  the 
natives  to  it  as  a deity.5 

The  Bo  tree  is  much  worshipped  in  India6  and  Ceylon.7 
c The  planting  of  the  Eajayatana  tree  by  Buddha,5  says  Fer- 
gusson, 6 has  already  been  alluded  to,  but  the  history  of  the 
transference  of  a branch  of  the  Bo  tree  from  the  Buddh-gya 
to  Anuradhapura,  is  as  authentic  and  as  important  as  any 
event  recorded  in  the  Ceylonese  annals.  Sent  by  Asoka 
(250  b.c.),  it  was  received  with  the  utmost  reverence  by 

1 Travels,  1817,  vol.  i.  pp.  64,  106.  97. 

See  also  Cailli6,  vol.  i.  p.  156.  4 Loc . cit.  p.  399.  See  also  Astley’s 

2 Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  50.  Klemm  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  20. 

quotes  also  Villault,  Rel.  des  Costes  5 Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  117. 
d’Afrique  S.,  pp.  263,  267.  6 Tree  and  Serpent  Worship,  p.  56, 

8 Merolla’s  Voyage  to  Congo.  Pin-  ct  seq. 
kerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  236.  Astley’s  7 Ibid.  p.  56. 

Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  pp.  95, 


194 


SIBERIA. 


Devanampiyatisso,  and  planted  in  tlie  most  conspicuous 
spot  in  the  centre  of  his  capital.  There  it  has  been 
reverenced  as  the  chief  and  most  important  “numen” 
of  Ceylon  for  more  than  2,000  years,  and  it,  or  its  lineal 
descendant  sprung  at  least  from  the  old  root,  is  there 
worshipped  at  this  hour.  The  city  is  in  ruins ; its  great 
dagobas  have  fallen  to  decay ; its  monasteries  have  disap- 
peared ; but  the  great  Bo  tree  still  flourishes  according  to 
the  legend, — Ever  green,  never  growing  or  decreasing,  but 
living  on  for  ever  for  the  delight  and  worship  of  mankind. 
Annually  thousands  repair  to  the  sacred  precincts  within 
which  it  stands,  to  do  it  honour,  and  to  offer  up  those 
prayers  for  health  and  prosperity  which  are  more  likely  to 
be  answered  if  uttered  in  its  presence.  There  is  probably 
no  older  idol  in  the  world,  certainly  none  more  venerated.5 

Some  of  the  Chittagong  Hill  Tribes  worship  the  bamboo.1 
In  Siberia  the  Jakuts  have  sacred  trees  on  which  they 
‘hang  all  manner  of  nicknacks,  as  iron,  brass,  copper, 
&c.’2  The  Ostyaks  also,  as  Pallas  informs  us,  used  to 
worship  trees.3 

‘ There  was  pointed  out  to  us,5  says  Erman,4  6 as  an 
important  monument  of  an  early  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Beresov,  a larch  about  fifty  feet  high,  and  now,  through 
age,  flourishing  only  at  the  top,  which  has  been  preserved 
in  the  churchyard.  In  former  times,  when  the  Ostyak 
rulers  dwelt  in  Beresov,  this  tree  was  the  particular  object 
of  their  adoration.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  instances, 
observed  by  the  Russians,  the  peculiar  sacredness  of  the 
tree  was  due  to  the  singularity  of  its  form  and  growth,  for 
about  six  feet  from  the  ground,  the  trunk  separated  into 
two  equal  parts ; and  again  united.  It  was  the  custom  of 

1 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  3 Loc.  cit.  vol.  iv.  p.  79. 

p.  10.  4 Erman’s  Travels  in  Siberia,  vol.  i. 

2 Strahlenberg,  Travels  in  Siberia,  p.  464. 

p.  381. 


SUMATRA.  PHILIPPINES. 


195 


tlie  superstitions  natives  to  place  costly  offerings  of  every 
kind  in  the  opening  of  the  trunk ; nor  have  they  yet  aban- 
doned the  usage ; a fact  well  known  to  the  enlightened 
Kosaks,  who  enrich  themselves  by  carrying  off  secretly 
the  sacrificial  gifts.5  ‘ Hanway,1  in  his  Travels  in  Persia, 
mentions  a tree  to  which  were  affixed  a number  of  rags 
left  there  as  healtti-offerings  by  persons  afflicted  with 
ague.  This  was  beside  a desolate  caravanserai  where  the 
traveller  found  nothing  but  water.5 

In  some  parts2  of  Sumatra  c likewise  they  super stitiously 
believe  that  certain  trees,  particularly  those  of  venerable 
appearance  (as  an  old  jawi-jawi  or  banian  tree),  are  the 
residence,  or  rather  the  material  frame  of  spirits  of  the 
woods;  an  opinion  which  exactly  answers  to  the  idea 
entertained  by  the  ancients  of  the  dryades  and  hama- 
dryades.  At  Benkunat,  in  the  Lampong  country,  there  is 
a long  stone,  standing  on  a flat  one,  supposed  by  the 
people  to  possess  extraordinary  power  of  virtue.  It  is 
reported  to  have  been  once  thrown  down  into  the  water, 
and  to  have  raised  itself  again  into  its  original  position ; 
agitating  the  elements  at  the  same  time  with  a prodigious 
storm.  To  approach  it  without  respect,  they  believe  to  be 
the  source  of  misfortune  to  the  offender.5 

Among  the  natives  of  the  Philippines  we  also  find  the 
worship  of  trees.3  They  also  c believed  that  the  world 
at  first  consisted  only  cf  sky  and  water,  and  between  these 
two  a glede ; which,  weary  with  flying  about,  and  finding 
no  place  to  rest,  set  the  water  at  variance  with  the  sky, 
which,  in  order  to  keep  it  in  bounds,  and  that  it  should 
‘ not  get  uppermost,  loaded  the  water  with  a number  of 
islands,  in  which  the  glede  might  settle  and  leave  them 
at  peace.  Mankind,  they  said,  sprang  out  of  a large  cane 

1 Quoted  in  tlie  Early  Races  of  Scot-  2 Marsden’s  History  of  Sumatra 

land,  yoI.  i.  p.  163.  See  also  De  p.  301. 

Brosses,  loc.  cit.  pp.  144,  145.  3 Ibid . p.  303. 


196 


PACIFIC  ISLANDS.  MEXICO. 


with  two  joints,  that,  floating  about  in  the  water,  was  at 
length  thrown  by  the  waves  against  the  feet  of  the  glede, 
as  it  stood  on  shore,  which  opened  it  with  its  bill,  the  man 
came  out  of  one  joint,  the  woman  out  of  the  other.  These 
were  soon  after  married  by  consent  of  their  god,  Bathala 
Meycapal,  which  caused  the  first  trembling  of  the  earth ; 
and  from  thence  are  descended  the  different  nations  of  the 
world.’ 

The  Fijians  also  worshipped  certain  plants.1  Tree- 
worship  was  less  prevalent  in  America.  Trees  and  plants 
were  worshipped  by  the  Mandans  and  Monitarees.2  A 
large  ash  was  venerated  by  the  Indians  of  Lake  Superior.3 

In  North  America,  Franklin4  describes  a sacred  tree  on 
which  the  Crees  ‘had  hung  strips  of  buffalo  flesh,  and 
pieces  of  cloth.’  They  complained  to  him  of  some  ‘ Stone 
Indians,  who,  two  nights  before,  had  stripped  their  revered 
tree  of  many  of  its  offerings.’ 

In  Mexico  Mr.  Tylor5  observed  an  ancient  Cyprus  of 
remarkable  size : 6 all  over  its  branches  were  fastened 
votive  offerings  of  the  Indians,  hundreds  of  locks  of  coarse 
black  hair,  teeth,  bits  of  coloured  cloth,  rags  and  morsels 
of  ribbon.  The  tree  was  many  centuries  old,  and  had 
probably  had  some  mysterious  influence  ascribed  to  it, 
and  been  decorated  with  such  simple  offerings  long  before 
the  discovery  of  America.’  In  Nicaragua  not  only  large 
trees,  but  even  maize  and  beans,  were  worshipped.6  Maize 
was  also  worshipped  in  the  Peruvian  province  of  Huanca.7 

In  Patagonia  Mr.  Darwin8  mentions  a sacred  tree 

1 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  yol.  i.  p.  219.  p.  265. 

2 Muller,  Amer.  Urrel.  p.  59.  6 Muller,  loc.  cit.  p.  494.  See  also 

3 Muller,  loc . cit.  p.  125.  p.  491. 

4 Journeys  to  the  Polar  Sea,  vol.  i.  7 Martius,  loc.  cit.  p.  80. 

p,  221.  8 Researches  in  Geology  and  Natu- 

5 Anahuac,  p.  215.  He  mentions  ral  History,  p.  79. 

&  second  case  of  the  same  sort  on 


PATAGONIA*  NORTH  AMERICA. 


197 


* which  the  Indians  reverence  as  the  altar  of  Walleechn. 
It  is  situated  on  a high  part  of  the  plain,  and  hence  is  a 
landmark  visible  at  a great  distance.  As  soon  as  a tribe 
of  Indians  come  in  sight  of  it,  they  offer  their  adorations 
by  lond  shouts.  ...  It  stands  by  itself  without  any 
neighbour,  and  was  indeed  the  first  tree  we  saw ; after- 
wards we  met  with  a few  others  of  the  same  kind,  but 
they  were  far  from  common.  Being  winter  the  tree  had 
no  leaves,  but  in  their  place  numberless  threads,  by  which 
the  various  offerings,  such  as  cigars,  bread,  meat,  pieces 
of  cloth,  &c.,  had  been  suspended.  Poor  people  not 
having  anything  better,  only  pulled  a thread  out  of  their 
ponchoo,  and  fastened  it  to  the  tree.  The  Indians,  more- 
over, were  accustomed  to  pour  spirits  and  mate  into  a 
certain  hole,  and  likewise  to  smoke  upwards,  thinking 
thus  to  afford  all  possible  gratification  to  Walleechu.  To 
complete  the  scene,  the  tree  was  surrounded  by  the 
bleached  bones  of  the  horses  which  had  been  slaughtered 
as  sacrifices.  All  Indians,  of  every  age  and  sex,  made  their 
offerings ; they  then  thought  that  their  horses  would  not 
tire,  and  that  they  themselves  should  be  prosperous. 

6 The  Gaucho  who  told  me  this,  said  that  in  the  time  of 
peace  he  had  witnessed  this  scene,  and  that  he  and  others 
used  to  wait  till  the  Indians  had  passed  by,  for  the  sake 
of  stealing  their  offerings  from  Walleechu.  The  Gauchos 
think  that  the  Indians  consider  the  tree  as  the  god  itself ; 
but  it  seems  far  more  probable  that  they  regard  it  as  the 
altar,’ — a distinction,  however,  which  a Patagonian  Indian 
would  hardly  perceive. 

The  Abenaquis  also  had  a sacred  tree.1 

Trees  were  worshipped  by  the  ancient  Celts,  and 
De  Brosses2  even  derives  the  word  kirk,  now  softened  into 

1 De  Brosses,  Du  Culte  des  Dieux  2 Loc.  cit.  p.  175. 

Fetiches,  p.  51.  Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  146. 


198 


EUROPE. 


church,  from  quercus  an  oak,  that  species  being  peculia: 
sacred. 

The  Lapps  also  used  to  worship  trees.1 

Thus,  then,  this  form  of  religion  can  he  shown  to  l 
general  to  most  of  the  great  races  of  men  at  a certr^ 
stage  of  mental  development. 

We  will  now  pass  to  the  worship  of  lakes,  rivers,  andl 
springs,  which  we  shall  find  to  have  been  not  less  widely 
distributed.  It  was  at  one  time  very  prevalent  in  Western 
Europe.  According  to  Cicero,  Justin,  and  Strabo,  therei 
was  a lake  near  Toulouse  in  which  the  neighbouring 
tribes  used  to  deposit  offerings  of  gold  and  silver.  Tacitus./ 
Pliny,  and  Yirgil  also  allude  to  sacred  lakes.  In  thi 
sixth  century,  Gregory  of  Tours  mentions  a sacred  lab 
on  mount  Helanus. 

In  Brittany  there  is  the  celebrated  well  of  St.  Anne  of 
Auray,  and  the  sacred  fountain  at  Lanmeur  in  the  cryp^ 
of  the  church  of  St.  Melars  to  which  crowds  of  pilgrims\ 
still  resort.2 

In  our  own  country  traces  of  water-worship  are  also 
abundant.  It  is  expressly  mentioned  by  Gildas,3  and  is 
said  to  be  denounced  in  a Saxon  homily  preserved  in 
Cambridge.4  ‘At  St.  Fillans5  well  at  Comrie,  in  Perth- 
shire, numbers  of  persons  in  search  of  health,  so  late  as 
1791,  came  or  were  brought  to  drink  of  the  waters  and 
bathe  in  it.  All  these  walked  or  were  carried  three 
times  deasil  (sunwise)  round  the  well.  They  also  threw 
each  a white  stone  on  an  adjacent  cairn,  and  left  behind  a 
scrap  of  their  clothing  as  an  offering  to  the  genius  of  the 
place.’  In  the  Scotch  islands  also  are  many  saored  wells, 
and  I have  myself  seen  the  sacred  well  in  one  of  the 


1 De  Brosses,  loc.  cit.  p.  169. 

2 Early  Eaces  of  Scotland,  vol.  i. 
p.  158. 

3 Mon.  Hist.  Brit.  vii. 


4 Wright’s  Superstitions  of  England. 

5 Early  Eaces  of  Scotland,  yol.  i. 
p.  156. 


WATER- WORSHIP.  EUROPE. 


199 


< slands  of  Loch  Maree,  surrounded  by  the  little  offerings 
of  the  peasantry,  consisting  principally  of  rags  and  half- 
pence. 

Colonel  Forbes  Leslie  even  says  that  in  Scotland  ‘ there 
are  few  parishes  without  a holy  well ; 5 nor  was  it  much 
less  general  in  Ireland.  The  kelpie,  or  spirit  of  the 
waters,  assumed  various  forms,  those  of  a man,  woman, 
horse,  or  bull  being  the  most  common.  Scotland  and 
Ireland  are  full  of  legends  about  this  spirit,  a firm  belief 
in  the  existence  of  which  was  general  in  the  last  century, 
and  is  even  now  far  from  abandoned.1 

Of  river- worship  we  have  many  cases  recorded  in  Greek 
history.2  Peleus  dedicated  a lock  of  Achilles’  hair  to  the 
river  Spercheios.  The  Pulians  sacrificed  a bull  to  Alpheios  ; 
Themis  summoned  the  rivers  to  the  great  Olympian 
assembly.  Okeanos  the  Ocean,  and  various  fountains, 
were  regarded  as  divinities.  Water- worship  in  the  time  of 
Homer  was  however  gradually  fading  away ; and  belonged 
rather  I think  to  an  earlier  stage  in  development,  than  to 
a different  race  as  supposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone.3 

In  Northern  Asia  the  Tunguses  worship  various  springs.4 
He  Brosses  mentions  that  the  river  Sogd  was  worshipped 
at  Samarcand.5  Whipple6  states  that  ‘ in  the  tenth  century 
a schism  took  place  in  Persia  among  the  Armenians ; one 
party  being  accused  of  despising  the  holy  well  of  Yagars- 
chiebat.’ 

The  Bouriats  Also,  though  Buddhists,  have  sacred  lakes. 
Atkinson  thus  describes  one.  In  an  after-dinner  ramble, 
he  says,7  6 1 came  upon  the  small  and  picturesque  lake  of 
Ikeougoun,  which  lies  in  the  mountains  to  the  north  of 

1 See  Eorbes  Leslie’s  Early  Races  4 Pallas,  yoI.  iv.  p.  641. 

of  Scotland,  yoI.  i.  p.  145.  Campbell’s  5 Loc.  cit.  p.  146. 

Tales  of  the  West  Highlands.  6 Report  on  the  Indian  Tribes,  p, 

2 Juventus  Mundi,  p.  190.  44. 

3 Loc . cit.  pp.  177,  187.  7 Siberia,  p.  445. 


200 


ASIA. 


San-ghin-dalai,  and  is  held  in  veneration.  They  have 
erected  a small  wooden  temple  on  the  shore,  and  here 
they  come  to  sacrifice,  offering  np  milk,  butter,  and 
the  fat  of  the  animals,  which  they  burn  on  the  little 
altars.  The  large  rock  in  the  lake  is  with  them  a sacred 
stone,  on  which  some  rude  figures  are  traced ; and  on  the 
bank  opposite  they  place  rods  with  small  silk  flags,  having 
inscriptions  printed  on  them.’  Lake  Ahoosh  also  is 
accounted  sacred  among  the  Bashkirs.1 

The  divinity  of  water,  says  Dubois,  ‘ is  recognised  by  all 
the  people  of  India/  Besides  the  well-known  worship  of 
the  holy  Ganges,  the  tribes  of  the  Neilgherry  Hills2 
worship  rivers  under  the  name  of  Gangamma,  and  in 
crossing  them  it  was  usual  to  drop  a coin  into  the  water 
as  an  offering,  and  the  price  of  a safe  passage.  In  the 
Deccan  and  in  Ceylon,  trees  and  bushes  near  springs  may 
often  be  seen  covered  with  votive  offerings.3  The  Khonds 
also  worship  rivers  and  fountains.4  The  people  of  Sumatra 
‘ are  said  to  pay  a kind  of  adoration  to  the  sea,  and  to 
make  it  an  offering  of  cakes  and  sweetmeats  on  their  be- 
holding it  for  the  first  time,  deprecating  its  power  of  doing 
them  harm.55 

The  negroes  on  the  Guinea  Coast  worshipped  the  sea.6 

Herodotus  mentions  the  existence  of  sacred  fountains 
among  the  Libyans.7  In  the  Ashantee  country,  Bosman 
mentions  ‘the  Chamascian  river,  or  Bio  de  San  Juan, 
called  by  the  Negroes  Bossum  Pra,  which  they  adore  as  a 
god,  as  the  word  Bossum  signifies.58  The  Eufrates,  the 
principal  river  of  Whydah,  is  also  looked  on  as  sacred, 

1 Atkinson’s  Oriental  and  Western  5 Marsden,  loc.  cit.  p.  301. 

Siberia,  p.  141.  6 Bosman,  Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  vol. 

2 The  Tribes  of  the  Neilgherry  Hills,  xvi.  p.  494.  Smith’s  Voyage  to  Guinea, 

p.  68.  p.  197.  Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages, 

3 Early  Races  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.  vol.  ii.  p.  26. 

p.  163.  • 7 Melpomene,  elviii.,  clxxxi. 

4 Ibid . vol.  ii.  p.  497.  8 Loc.  cit.  p.  348. 


AFRICA. 


201 


and  a yearly  procession  is  made  to  it.1  Phillips2  men- 
tions, that  on  one  occasion  in  1693,  when  the  sea  was 
unusually  rough,  the  Kabosheers  complained  to  the  king, 
who  c desired  them  to  be  easy,  and  he  would  make  the  sea 
quiet  next  day.  Accordingly  he  sent  his  fetishman  with  a 
jar  of  palm  oil,  a bag  of  rice  and  corn,  a jar  of  pitto , a 
bottle  of  brandy,  a piece  of  painted  calico,  and  several 
other  things  to  present  to  the  sea.  Being  come  to  the  sea- 
side (as  the  author  was  informed  by  his  men,  who  saw  the 
ceremony),  he  made  a speech  to  it,  assuring  it  that  his 
king  was  its  friend,  and  loved  the  white  men ; that  they 
were  honest  fellows,  and  came  to  trade  with  him  for  what 
he  wanted ; and  that  he  requested  the  sea  not  to  be  angry, 
nor  hinder  them  to  land  their  goods  ; he  told  it,  that  if  it 
wanted  palm  oil,  his  king  had  sent  it  some ; and  so 
threw  the  jar  with  the  oil  into  the  sea,  as  he  did,  with  the 
same  compliment,  the  rice,  corn,  pitto,  brandy,  calico,  &c.5 
Again,  Yillault 3 mentions  that  ‘ lakes,  rivers,  and  ponds 
come  in  also  for  their  share  of  worship.  The  author  was 
present  at  a singular  ceremony  paid  to  a pond  not  far  from 
the  Danish  fort,  near  Akkra,  to  entreat  rain  of  it,  the  season 
having  been  very  dry.  A great  number  of  blacks  assembled 
about  the  pond,  bringing  with  them  a sheep,  whose  throat 
the  priests  cut  in  the  banks  of  the  salt  pond,  so  that  the 
blood  ran  into  it,  and  mingled  with  the  water.  Then 
they  made  a fire,  while  others  cut  the  beast  in  pieces 
which  they  broiled  on  the  coals,  and  eat  as  fast  as  it  was 
ready.  This  being  over,  some  of  them  threw  a gallipot 
into  the  pond,  muttering  some  words.  A Dane  who  was 
present,  and  spoke  their  language  fluently,  informed  the 
author,  in  the  name  of  the  blacks,  that  this  lake,  or  pond, 
being  one  of  their  deities,  and  the  common  messenger  of 

1 Astley,  loc.  cit.  p.  26.  ii.  p.  411. 

2 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  yoI.  3 Ibid.  p.  668. 


10 


202 


NORTH  AMERICA. 


all  the  rivers  of  their  country,  they  threw  in  the  gallipots 
with  these  ceremonies  to  implore  his  assistance ; and  to  beg 
him  to  carry  immediately  that  pot  in  their  name,  to  the 
other  rivers  and  lakes  to  buy  water  for  them,  and  hoped, 
at  his  return,  he  would  pour  the  pot-full  on  their  corn, 
that  they  might  have  a good  crop.5 

Some  of  the  Negroes  on  the  Guinea  Coast1  ‘ looked  on 
the  Whites  as  the  gods  of  the  sea ; that  the  mast  was  a 
divinity  that  made  the  ship  walk,  and  the  pump  was 
a miracle,  since  it  could  make  water  rise  up,  whose  natural 
property  is  to  descend.5 

In  North  America  the  Dacotahs9  worship  a god  of  the 
waters,  under  the  name  of  IJnktahe.  They  say  that  c this 
god  and  its  associates  are  seen  in  their  dreams.  It  is  the 
master-spirit  of  all  their  juggling  and  superstitious  belief. 
From  it  the  medicine-men  obtain  their  supernatural 
powers,  and  a great  part  of  their  religion  springs  from 
this  god.5  Franklin3  mentions  that  the  wife  of  one  of  his 
Indian  guides  being  ill,  her  husband  6 made  an  offering  to 
the  water- spirits,  whose  wrath  he  apprehended  to  be  the 
cause  of  her  malady.  It  consisted  of  a knife,  a piece  of 
tobacco,  and  some  other  trifling  articles,  which  were  tied 
up  in  a small  bundle,  and  committed  to  the  rapid.5 
Carver4  observes  that  when  the  Eedskins  arrive  on  the 
borders  of  Lake  Superior,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
or  any  other  great  body  of  water,  they  present  to  the 
spirit  who  resides  there  some  kind  of  offering,  as  the 
prince  of  the  Winnebagoes  did  when  he  attended  me  to 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.5  Tanner  also  gives  instances  of 
this  custom.5  On  one  occasion  a Eedskin,  addressing 

1 Astley,  vol.  ii.  p.  105.  Sea,  1819-22,  yol.  ii.  p.  245. 

2 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  pt.  iii.  4 Carver’s  Travels,  p.  383. 

p.  485.  5 Narrative  of  the  Captivity  of  John 

8 Journey  to  the  Shores  of  the  Polar  Tanner,  p.  46. 


CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


203 


the  spirit  of  the  waters  * told  him  that  he  had  come  a long 
way  to  pay  his  adorations  to  him,  and  now  would  make 
him  the  best  offerings  in  his  power.  He  accordingly  first 
threw  his  pipe  into  the  stream ; then  the  roll  that  con- 
tained his  tobacco ; after  these,  the  bracelets  he  wore  on 
his  arms  and  wrists  ; next  an  ornament  that  encircled  his 
neck,  composed  of  beads  and  wires ; and  at  last  the  earings 
from  his  ears ; in  short,  he  presented  to  his  god  every  part 
of  his  dress  that  was  valuable/1 

The  Mandans  also  were  in  the  habit  of  sacrificing  to  the 
spirit  of  the  waters.2 * 

In  North  Mexico,  near  the  35th  Parallel,  Lieutenant 
Whipple  found  a sacred  spring  which  from  time  immemo- 
rial 4 had  been  held  sacred  to  the  rain-god.  No  animal 
may  drink  of  its  waters.  It  must  be  annually  cleansed 
with  ancient  vases,  which,  having  been  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation  by  the  caciques,  are  then  placed 
upon  the  walls,  never  to  be  removed.  The  frog,  the 
tortoise,  and  the  rattlesnake,  represented  upon  them,  are 
sacred  to  Montezuma,  the  patron  of  the  place,  who  would 
consume  by  lightning  any  sacrilegious  hand  that  should 
dare  to  take  the  relics  away.  In  Nicaragua  rain  was 
worshipped  under  the  name  of  Quiateot.  The  principal 
water-god  of  Mexico,  however,  was  Tlaloc,  who  was  wor- 
shipped by  the  Toltecs,  Chichimecs,  and  Aztecs.4  In  New 
Mexico,  not  far  from  Zuni,  Dr.  Bell5  describes  a sacred 
spring  4 about  eight  feet  in  diameter,  walled  round  with 
stones,  of  which  neither  cattle  nor  men  may  drink : 
the  animals  sacred  to  water  (frogs,  tortoises,  and  snakes) 
alone  must  enter  the  pool.  Once  a year  the  cacique  and 
his  attendants  perform  certain  religious  rites  at  the  spring: 


1 Loc.  cit.  p.  67. 

2 Gatlin’s  North  American  Indians, 

vol.  i.  p.  160. 


3 Report  on  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  40. 

4 Muller,  Amer.  Urrel.,  p.  496. 

5 Ethn.  Journ.  1869,  p.  227. 


204 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


it  is  thoroughly  cleared  out ; water-pots  are  brought  as  an 
offering  to  the  spirit  of  Montezuma,  and  are  placed  bottom 
upwards  on  the  top  of  the  wall  of  stones.  Many  of  these 
have  been  removed ; but  some  still  remain,  while  the 
ground  around  is  strewn  with  fragments  of  vases  which 
have  crumbled  into  decay  from  age/ 

In  Peru  the  sea,  under  the  name  of  Mama  Cocha,  was 
the  principal  deity  of  the  Chinchas ; 1 one  branch  of  the 
Collas  deduced  their  origin  from  a river,  the  others  from 
a spring : there  was  also  a special  rain-goddess.  • 

In  Paraguay2  also  the  rivers  are  propitiated  by  offer- 
ings of  tobacco. 

We  will  now  pass  to  the  worship  of  stones  and  moun- 
tains, a form  of  religion  as  general  as  those  already 
described. 

M.  Dulaure,  in  his ‘ Histoire  Abregee  des  Cultes/  explains 
the  origin  of  Stone-worship  as  arising  from  the  respect 
paid  to  boundary  stones.  I do  not  doubt  that  the  worship 
of  some  particular  stones  may  thus  have  originated. 
Hermes  or  Termes  was  evidently  of  this  character,  and 
hence  we  may  perhaps  explain  the  peculiar  characteristics 
of  Hermes  or  Mercury,  whose  symbol  was  an  upright 
stone. 

Mercury  or  Hermes,  says  Lempriere,  ‘was  the  mes- 
senger of  the  gods.  He  was  the  patron  of  travellers  and 
shepherds;  he  conducted  the  souls  of  the  dead  into  the 
infernal  regions,  and  not  only  presided  over  orators,  mer- 
chants, and  declaimers,  but  he  was  also  the  god  of  thieves, 
pickpockets,  and  all  dishonest  persons/  He  invented  the 
letters  and  the  lyre,  and  was  the  originator  of  arts  and 
sciences. 

It  is  difficult  at  first  to  see  the  connection  between 


1 Muller,  Ajner.  Urrel.,  p.  368. 


2 Loc.  cit.  p.  258. 


THE  WORSHIP  OF  STONES. 


205 


tliese  various  offices,  characterised  as  they  are  by  such 
opposite  peculiarities.  Yet  they  all  follow  from  the 
custom  of  marking  boundaries  by  upright  stones.  Hence 
the  name  Hermes,  or  Termes  the  boundary.  In  the 
troublous  times  of  old  it  was  usual,  in  order  to  avoid 
disputes,  to  leave  a tract  of  neutral  territory  between  the 
possessions  of  different  nations.  These  are  called  marches ; 
hence  the  title  of  Marquis,  which  means  an  officer  appointed 
to  watch  the  frontier  or  6 march.5  These  marches  not 
being  cultivated  served  as  grazing  grounds.  To  them 
came  merchants  in  order  to  exchange  on  neutral  ground  the 
products  of  their  respective  countries ; here  also  for  the 
same  reason  treaties  were  negotiated.  Here  again  inter- 
national games  and  sports  were  held.  Upright  stones 
were  used  to  indicate  places  of  burial ; and  lastly  on  them 
were  engraved  laws  and  decrees,  records  of  remarkable 
events,  and  the  praises  of  the  deceased. 

Hence  Mercury,  represented  by  a plain  upright  stone, 
was  the  god  of  travellers  because  he  was  a landmark,  of 
shepherds  as  presiding  over  the  pastures ; he  conducted 
the  souls  of  the  dead  into  the  infernal  regions,  because  even 
in  very  early  days  upright  stones  were  used  as  tombstones ; 
he  was  the  god  of  merchants  because  commerce  was 
carried  on  principally  at  the  frontiers ; and  of  thieves  out 
of  sarcasm.  He  was  the  messenger  of  the  gods,  because 
ambassadors  met  at  the  frontiers;  and  of  eloquence  for 
the  same  reason.  He  invented  the  lyre  and  presided  over 
games,  because  contests  in  music,  &c.  were  held  on 
neutral  ground ; and  he  invented  letters,  because  inscrip- 
tions were  engraved  on  upright  pillars. 

Stone-worship,  however,  in  its  simpler  forms  has,  I 
think,  a different  origin  from  this,  and  is  merely  a form 
of  that  indiscriminate  worship  which  characterises  the 
human  mind  in  a particular  phase  of  development. 


206 


ASIA. 


Pallas  states  that  the  Ostyaks1  and  Tunguses  worship 
mountains/  2 and  the  Tatars  stones.3  Near  Lake  Baikal4 5 
is  a sacred  rock  which  is  regarded  as  the  special  abode  of 
an  evil  spirit,  and  is  consequently  much  feared  by  the 
natives.  In  India  stone-worship  is  very  prevalent.  The 
Asagas  of  Mysore  c worship  a god  called  Bhnma  Devam, 
who  is  represented  by  a shapeless  stone.’5  6 One  thing  is 
certain/  says  Mr.  Hislop,  c the  worship  (of  stones)  is  spread 
over  all  parts  of  the  country,  from  Berar  to  the  extreme 
east  of  Bustar,  and  that  not  merely  among  the  Hinduised 
aborigines,  who  had  begun  to  honour  Khandova,  &c.,  but 
among  the  rudest  and  most  savage  tribes.  He  is  generally 
adored  in  the  form  of  an  unshapely  stone  covered  with 
vermilion.’ 6 c Two  rude  slave  castes  in  Tulava  (Southern 
India),  the  Bakadara  and  Betadara,  worship  a benevolent 
deity  named  Buta,  represented  by  a stone  kept  in  every 
house.’7  Indeed,  6 in  every  part  of  Southern  India,  four  or 
five  stones  may  often  be  seen  in  the  ryots’  field,  placed  in 
a row  and  daubed  with  red  paint,  which  they  consider  as 
guardians  of  the  field  and  call  the  five  Pandus.’8  Colonel 
Forbes  Leslie  supposes  that  this  red  paint  is  intended  to 
represent  blood.9  The  god  of  each  Khond  village  is 
represented  by  three  stones.10  PL  IY.  represents  a group 
of  sacred  stones,  near  Delgaum  in  the  Dekkan,  from  a 
figure  given  by  Colonel  Forbes  Leslie  in  his  interesting 
work.11  The  three  largest  stood  c in  front  of  the  centre  of 
two  straight  lines,  each  of  which  consisted  of  thirteen 
stones.  These  lines  were  close  together,  and  the  edges  of 

1 Voyages  de  Pallas,  vol.  iv.  p.  79.  in  Ethnol,  Journ.  vol.  yiii.  p.  96. 

2 Ibid.  pp.  434,  648.  7 Journ.  Ethnol.  Soc.  vol.  viii.p.  115. 

3 Ibid.  pp.  514,  598.  8 Ibid.  vol.  ix.  p.  125. 

4 Hill’s  Travels  in  Siberia,  vol.  ii.  9 Early  Kaces  of  Scotland,  voL  ii. 

p.  142.  p.  462. 

5 Buchanan’s  Journey,  vol.  i.  p.  338.  10  Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  497. 

Quoted  in  Ethnol.  Journ.  vol.  viii.  p.  96.  11  Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  464. 

* Aboriginal  Tribes,  p.  16.  Quoted 


INDIAN  SACRED  STONES. 


. 


* 


HINDUSTAN. 


207 


the  stones  were  placed  as  near  to  each  other  as  it  was 
possible  to  do  with  slabs  which,  although  selected,  had 
never  been  artificially  shaped.  The  stone  in  the  centre  of 
each  line  was  nearly  as  high  as  the  highest  of  the  three 
that  stood  in  front,  but  the  others  gradually  decreased  in 
size  from  the  centre,  until  those  at  the  ends  were  less  than 
a foot  above  the  ground,  into  which  they  were  all  secured. 
Three  stones,  not  fixed,  were  placed  in  front  of  the  centre 
of  the  group ; they  occupied  the  same  position,  and  were 
intended  for  the  same  purposes,  as  those  in  the  circular 
temple  just  described.  All  the  stones  had  been  selected  of 
an  angular  shape,  with  somewhat  of  an  obelisk  form  in 
general  appearance.  The  central  group  and  double  lines 
faced  nearly  east,  and  on  that  side  were  whitewashed. 
On  the  white,  near,  although  not  reaching  quite  to  the 
apex  of  each  stone,  nor  extending  altogether  to  the  sides, 
was  a large  spot  of  red  paint,  two-thirds  of  which  from 
the  centre  were  blackened  over,  leaving  only  a circular 
external  belt  of  red.  This  gave,  as  I believe  it  was 
intended  to  do,  a good  representation  of  a large  spot  of 
blood.5 

In  connection  with  these  painted  stones  it  is  remarkable 
that  in  New  Zealand  red  is  a sacred  colour,  and  ‘ the  way 
of  rendering  anything  tapu  was  by  making  it  red.  When 
a person  died,  his  house  was  thus  painted ; when  the  tapu 
was  laid  on  anything,  the  chief  erected  a post  and  painted 
it  with  the  kura ; wherever  a corpse  rested,  some  memo- 
rial was  set  up ; oftentimes  the  nearest  stone,  rock,  or  tree 
served  as  a monument ; but  whatever  object  was  selected, 
it  was  sure  to  be  painted  red.  If  the  corpse  was  conveyed 
by  water,  wherever  they  landed  a similar  token  was>  vleft ; 
and  when  it  reached  its  destination,  the  canoe  was 
dragged  on  shore,  painted  red,  and  abandoned.  When  the 
hahunga  took  place,  the  scraped  bones  of  the  chief  thus 


208 


HINDOSTAN. 


ornamented,  and  wrapped  in  a red-stained  mat,  were  de- 
posited in  a box  or  bowl  smeared  with  the  sacred  colour, 
and  placed  in  a painted  tomb.  Near  his  final  resting- 
place  a lofty  and  elaborately  carved  monument  was  erected 
to  his  memory ; this  was  called  the  tiki,  which  was  also 
thus  coloured/1  Bed  was  also  a sacred  colour  in  Congo.2 

Colonel  Dalton  describes3  a ceremony  which,  as  he  truly 
observes,  curiously  resembles  the  well-known  scene  in  the 
life  of  Elijah,  when  he  recalled  Israel  to  the  old  faith  by 
producing  rain  when  the  priests  of  Baal  had  failed  to  do 
so.  The  Sonthals  worship  a conspicuous  hill  called  c Ma- 
rang  Boroo/  In  times  of  drought  they  go  to  the  top  of 
the  sacred  mountain,  and  offer  their  sacrifices  on  a large 
flat  stone,  playing  on  drums  and  beseeching  their  god  for 
rain.  ‘ They  shake  their  heads  violently,  till  they  work 
themselves  into  a phrensy,  and  the  movement  becomes 
involuntary.  They  go  on  thus  wildly  gesticulating,  till  a 
“ little  cloud  like  a man’s  hand”  is  seen.  Then  they 
arise,  take  up  the  drums,  and  dance  the  kurrun  on  the 
rock,  till  Marang  Boroo’s  response  to  their  prayer  is  heard 
in  the  distant  rumbling  of  thunder,  and  they  go  home 
rejoicing.  They  must  go  “fasting  to  the  mount,”  and 
stay  there  till  “ there  is  a sound  of  abundance  of  rain,” 
when  they  get  them  down  to  eat  and  drink.  My  informant 
tells  me  it  always  comes  before  evening/ 

The  Arabians  also  down  to  the  time  of  Mahomet  wor- 
shipped a black  stone.  The  Phoenicians  also  worshipped  a 
deity  under  the  form  of  an  unshaped  stone.4  The  god 
Heliogabalus  was  merely  a black  stone  of  a conical  form. 
Upright  stones  were  worshipped  by  the  Bomans  and  the 
Greeks  under  the  name  of  Hermes  or  Mercury.  The 

1 Taylor’s  New  Zealand  and  the  3 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.  S.  vol.  vi. 

New  Zealanders,  p.  95.  p.  35. 

2 Merolla,  Pinkerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  4 Kenrick’s  Phoenicia,  p.  323. 

273. 


GREECE.  LAPLAND.  FRANCE. 


209 


Thespians  had  a rude  stone  which  they  regarded  as  a 
deity,  and  the  Boeotians  worshipped  Hercules  under  the 
same  form.1  The  Laplanders  also  had  sacred  mountains 
and  rocks.2 

In  Western  Europe  during  the  middle  ages  we  meet 
with  several  denunciations  of  stone-worship,  proving  its 
deep  hold  on  the  people.  Thus  ‘ the  worship3  of  stones  was 
condemned  by  Theodoric,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in 
the  seventh  century,  and  is  among  the  acts  of  heathenism 
forbidden  by  King  Edgar  in  the  tenth,  and  by  Cnut  in  the 
eleventh  century.  In  a council  held  at  Tours  in  a.d.  567 
priests  were  admonished  to  shut  the  doors  of  their  churches 
against  all  persons  worshipping  upright  stones,  and  Mah6 
states  that  a manuscript  record  of  the  proceedings  of  a 
council  held  at  Nantes  in  the  seventh  century  makes 
mention  of  the  stone- worship  of  the  Amoricans.5 

‘Les  Eran§ais/  says  Dulaure,4  ‘adorerent  des  pierres 
plusieurs  siecles  apres  I’etablissement  du  christianisme 
parmi  eux.  Diverses  lois  civiles  et  religieuses  attestent 
l’existence  de  ce  culte.  Un  capitulaire  de  Charlemagne, 
et  le  concile  de  Leptine,  de  l’an  743,  defendent  les  cere- 
monies superstitieuses  qui  se  pratiquent  aupres  des  pierres 
et  aupres  des  Fans  consacres  a Mercure  et  Jupiter.  Le 
concile  de  Nantes,  cite  par  Reginon,  fait  la  meme  defense. 
II  nous  apprend  que  ces  pierres  etaient  situees  dans  des 
lieux  agrestes,  et  que  le  peuple,  dupe  des  tromperies  des 
demons,  y apportait  ses  voeux  et  ses  offrandes.  Les 
conciles  d’ Arles,  de  Tours,  le  capitulaire  d’Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle,  de  Tan  789,  et  plusieurs  synodes,  renouvellent  ces 
prohibitions.5 

In  Ireland  in  the  fifth  century,  King  Laoghaire  wor- 
shipped a stone  pillar  called  the  Crom-Cruach,  which  was 

1 See  De  Drosses,  loc.  cit.  p.  1 55.  1 Forbes  Leslie,  loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  256. 

2 Diuaure,  loc.  cit.  p.  50.  4 Bulaure,  loc . cit.  vol.  i.  p.  304. 


210 


IRELAND.  AFRICA. 


overthrown  by  St.  Patrick.  Another  stone  at  Clogher  was 
worshipped  by  the  Irish  under  the  name  of  Kermand- 
Kelstach.1  There  was  a sacred  stone  in  Jura2  round 
which  the  people  used  to  move  c deasil,5  i.e.  sunwise.  * In 
some  of  the  Hebrides3  the  people  attributed  oracular 
power  to  a large  black  stone.5  In  the  island  of  Skye  c in 
every  district  there  is  to  be  met  with  a rude  stone  conse- 
crated to  Gruagach  or  Apollo.  The  Eev.  Mr.  McQueen  of 
Skye  says  that  in  almost  every  village  the  sun,  called 
Grugach  or  the  Fair-haired,  is  represented  by  a rude  stone ; 
and  he  further  states  that  libations  of  milk  were  poured 
on  the  gruaich-stones.5 

Passing  to  Africa,  Caillie  observed  near  the  negro  village 
of  N5pal  a sacred  stone,  on  which  everyone  as  he  passed 
threw  a thread  out  of  his  e pagne 5 or  breech  cloth,  as  a sort 
of  offering.  The  natives  firmly  believe  that  when  any 
danger  threatens  the  village,  this  stone  leaves  its  place 
and  ‘ moves  thrice  round  it  in  the  preceding  night,  by 
way  of  warning.54 

Bruce  observes  that  the  pagan  Abyssinians  c worship  a 
tree,  and  likewise  a stone.5  5 

The  Tahitians  believed  in  two  principal  gods ; 6 the 
Supreme  Deity,  one  of  these  two  first  beings,  they  call 
Taroataihetoomoo,  and  the  other,  whom  they  suppose  to 
have  been  a rock,  Tepapa.56 

In  the  Feejee7  Islands  ‘ rude  consecrated  stones  (fig.  20) 
are  to  be  seen  near  Yuna,  where  offerings  of  food  are 
sometimes  made.  Another  stands  on  a reef  near  Naloa 
to  which  the  natives  tama ; and  one  near  Thokova,  Na 
Viti  Levu,  named  Lovekaveka,  is  regarded  as  the  abode  of 

1 Dr.  Todd’s  St.  Patrick,  p.  127.  5 Bruce’s  Travels,  vol.  vi.  p.  343. 

2 Martin’s  Western  Isles,  p.  241.  6 Hawkes worth’s  Voyages,  vol.  ii. 

8 Forbes  Leslie,  loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  p.  238. 

257.  7 Williams’  Fiji  and  the  Fijians, 

4 Caillie,  vol.  i.  p.  25.  . vol.  i.  p.  220. 


PACIFIC  ISLANDS, 


211 


a goddess,  for  whom  food  is  provided.  This,  as  seen  in  the 
engraving,  is  like  a round  black  milestone,  slightly  inclined, 
and  having  a liku  (girdle)  tied  round  the  middle.  The  shrine 
of  0 Rewau  is  a large  stone,  which,  like  the  one  near  hTaloa, 
hates  mosquitoes,  and  keeps  them  from  collecting  near 
where  he  rules ; he  has  also  two  large  stones  for  his  wives, 
one  of  whom  came  from  Yandua,  and  the  other  from 


Fig.  20. 


sached  stones.  (Feejee  Islands.) 


Yasawa.  Although  no  one  pretends  to  know  the  origin 
of  Ndengei,  it  is  said  that  his  mother,  in  the  form  of  two 
great  stones,  lies  at  the  bottom  of  a moat.  Stones  are 
also  used  to  denote  the  locality  of  some  other  gods,  and 
the  occasional  resting  places  of  others.  On  the  southern 
beaches  of  Yanua  Levu,  a large  stone  is  seen  which  has 
fallen  upon  a smaller  one.  These,  it  is  said,  represent  the 
gods  of  two  towns  on  that  coast  fighting,  and  their  quarrel 


212 


AMERICA. 


has  for  years  been  adopted  by  those  towns.  The  Suma- 
trans also,  as  already  mentioned  (ante,  p.  195),  had  sacred 
stones. 

Prescott1  says,  that  a Dacotah  Indian  ‘ will  pick  up  a 
round  stone,  of  any  kind,  and  paint  it,  and  go  a few  rods 
from  his  lodge,  and  clean  away  the  grass,  say  from  one  to 
two  feet  in  diameter,  and  there  place  his  stone,  or  god,  as 
he  would  term  it,  and  make  an  offering  of  some  tobacco 
and  some  feathers,  and  pray  to  the  stone  to  deliver  him 
from  some  danger  that  he  has  probably  dreamed  of,  oi 
from  imagination.5 

The  Monitarris  also  before  any  great  undertaking  were 
in  the  habit  of  making  offerings  to  a sacred  stone  named 
Mih  Choppenish.2  In  Florida  a mountain  called  Olaimi 
was  worshipped,  and  the  Natchez  of  Louisiana  had  a deity 
which  was  a conical  stone.3 

Fire-worship  is  so  widely  distributed  as  to  be  almost 
universal.  Since  the  introduction  of  lucifer  matches  we 
can  hardly  appreciate  the  difficulty  which  a savage  has  in 
obtaining  a light,  especially  in  damp  weather.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  some  Australian  tribes  did  not  know  how 
to  do  so,  and  that  others,  if  their  fire  went  out,  would 
go  many  miles  to  borrow  a spark  from  another  tribe, 
rather  than  attempt  to  produce  a new  one  for  themselves. 
Hence  in  several  very  widely  separated  parts  of  the 
world  we  find  it  has  been  customary  to  tell  off  some  one 
or  more  persons  whose  sole  duty  it  should  be  to  keep  up 
a continual  fire.  Hence,  no  doubt,  the  origin  of  the  Vestal 
virgins,  and  hence  also  the  idea  of  the  sacredness  of  fire 
would  naturally  arise. 

According  to  Lafitau,4  M.  Huet,  in  a work  which  I have 

1 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  p.  178. 

ii.  p.  229.  Lafitan,  yoI.  ii.  p.  321.  3 Lafitau,  yoI.  i.  p.  146. 

2 Klemm,  Cultur.  geschichte,  vol.  ii.  4 Loc.  cit . vol.  i.  p.  153. 


FIRE-WORSHIP. 


213 


not  been  able  to  see,  ‘ fait  nne  longue  enumeration  des 

peuples  qui  entretenoient  ee  feu  sacre,  et  il  cite  partout 

ses  autorites,  de  sorte  qu’il.  paroit  qu’il  n’y  avoit  point  de 

partie  du  monde  connu,  ou  ce  culte  ne  fut  universellement 

repandu.  Dans  FAsie,  outre  les  Juifs  et  les  Chaldeens 

dont  nous  venons  de  parler,  outre  les  peuples  de  Phrygie, 

de  Lycie,  et  de  FAsie-Mineure,  il  etoit  encore  chez  les 

Perses,  les  Medes,  les  Scythes,  les  Sarmates,  chez  toutes 

les  nations  du  Ponte  et  de  la  Cappadoce,  chez  toutes  celles 

des  Indes,  ou  P on  se  faisoit  un  devoir  de  se  jeter  dans  les 

flammes,  et  de  s’y  consumer  en  holocauste,  et  chez  toutes 

celles  des  deux  Arabies,  ou  chaque  jour  a certaines  heures 

on  faisoit  un  sacrifice  au  feu,  dans  lequel  plusieurs  per- 

sonnes  se  devouoient.  Dans  FAfrique  il  etoit  non-seulement 
* 

chez  les  Egyptiens,  qui  entretenoient  ce  feu  immortel  dans 
chaque  temple,  ainsi  que  Fassure  Porphyre,  mais  encore 
dans  FEthiopie,  dans  la  Lybie,  dans  le  temple  de  Jupiter 
Ammon,  et  chez  les  Atlantiques,  ou  Hiarbas,  roy  des  Gara- 
mantes  et  des  Getules,  avoit  dresse  cent  autels,  et  consacre 
autant  de  feux,  que  Yirgile  appelle  des  feux  vigilans  et  les 
gardes  eternelles  des  dieux.  Dans  FEurope  le  culte  de 
Yesta  etoit  si  bien  etabli,  que,  sans  parler  de  Pome  et  de 
FItalie,  il  n’y  avoit  point  de  ville  de  la  Grece  qui  n’eut  un 
temple,  un  pry tanee,  et  un  feu  eternel,  ainsi  que  le  remarque 
Casaubon  dans  ses  “ Notes  sur  Athenee.”  Les  temples 
celebres  d’Hercule  dans  les  Espagnes,  et  dans  les  Gaules, 
celui  de  Yulcain  au  Mont  Ethna,  de  Yenus  Erycine,  avoient 
tous  leurs  pyrethes  ou  feux  sacres.  On  peut  citer  de  sembla- 
bles  temoignages  des  nations  les  plus  reculees  dans  le  nord, 
qui  etoient  toutes  originates  des  Scythes  et  des  Sarmates. 
Enfin  M.  Huet  pretend  qu’il  n’y  a pas  encore  long-temps  que 
ce  culte  a ete  aboli  dans  FHybernie  et  dans  la  Moscovie, 
qufil  est  encore  aujourd’hui,  non-seulement  chez  les  Gaures, 
mais  encore  chez  les  Tartares,  les  Chinois,  et  dans  FAme- 


211 


WORSHIP  OP  THE  HEAVENLY  BODIES. 


rique  chez  les  Mexiquains.  II  pouvoit  encore  en  ajouter 
d5autrcs.5 

The  Natchez  had  a temple  in  which  they  kept  up  a 
perpetual  fire.1  The  Ojibwas2  maintained 6 a continual  fire 
as  a symbol  of  their  nationality.  They  maintained  also 
a civil  polity,  which,  however,  was  much  mixed  up  with 
their  religious  and  medicinal  beliefs.5  In  Mexico  also 
we  find  the  same  idea  of  sacred  fire.  Colonel  McLeod 
has  seen  the  sacred  fire  still  kept  burning  in  some  of  the 
valleys  of  South  Mexico.3  At  the  great  festival  of  Xiuh- 
molpia,  the  priests  and  people  went  in  procession  to  the 
mountain  of  Huixachtecatl ; then  an  unfortunate  victim 
was  stretched  on  the  ‘ stone  of  sacrifice,5  and  killed  by  a 
priest  with  a knife  of  obsidian ; the  dish  made  use  of  to 
kindle  the  new  fire  was  then  placed  on  the  wound,  and 
fire  was  obtained  by  friction.4 

In  Peru5  ‘ the  sacred  flame  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of 
the  virgins  of  the  sun ; and  if,  by  any  neglect,  it  was 
suffered  to  go  out  in  the  course  of  the  year,  the  event  was 
regarded  as  a calamity  that  boded  some  strange  disaster 
to  the  monarchy.5 

Pire  is  also  regarded  as  Sacred  in  Congo. 

No  one  can  wonder  that  the  worship  of  sun,  moon,  and 
stars  is  very  widely  distributed.  It  can,  however,  scarcely 
be  regarded  as  of  a higher  character  than  the  preceding 
forms  of  Totemism ; it  is  unknown  in  Australia,  and  almost 
so  in  Africa. 

In  hot  countries  the  sun  is  generally  regarded  as  an 
evil,  and  in  cold  as  a beneficent,  being.  It  was  the  chief 

1 Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  167.  also  p.  246. 

2 Warren  in  Schoolcraft’s  Indian  4 Humboldt’s  Researches,  London, 
Tribes,  vol.  ii.  p.  138.  See  also  Whip-  1824,  vol.  i.  pp.  225,  382.  Lafitau. 

pie’s  Report  on  Indian  Tribes,  p.  36.  vol.  j.  p.  170. 

* Jour.  Ethn.  Soc.  1869,  p.  225.  See  6 Prescott,  vol.  i.  p.  99. 


AMERICA. 


215 


object  of  religious  worship  among  the  Natchez,1  and  was 
also  worshipped  by  the  Navajos,  and  other  allied  tribes  in 
N.  America.2  Among  the  Comanches  of  Texas  * the  sun, 
moon,  and  earth  are  the  principal  objects  of  worship.’3 
Lafitau  observes  that  the  Americans  did  not  worship  the 
stars  and  planets,  but  only  the  sun.4  The  Ahts  of  North- 
west America  worship  both  the  sun  and  moon,  but 
especially  the  latter.  They  regard  the  sun  as  feminine 
and  the  moon  as  masculine,  being,  moreover,  the  husbanil 
of  the  sun.5  It  has  been  said  that  the  Esquimaux  of 
Greenland  used  to  wprship  the  sun.  This,  however,  seems 
more  than  doubtful,  and  Crantz6  expressly  denies  the 
statement. 

In  South  America  the  Coroados  worship  the  sun  and 
moon,  the  moon  being  the  greatest.7  The  Abipones8 
thought  that  they  were  descended  from  the  Pleiades,  and 
* as  that  constellation  disappears  at  certain  periods  from 
the  sky  of  South  America,  upon  such  occasions  they 
suppose  that  their  grandfather  is  sick,  and  are  under  a 
yearly  apprehension  that  he  is  going  to  die : but  as  soon 
as  those  seven  stars  are  again  visible  in  the  month  of  May, 
they  welcome  their  grandfather,  as  if  returned  and  re- 
stored from  sickness,  with  joyful  shouts,  and  the  festive 
sound  of  pipes  and  trumpets,  congratulating  him  on  the 
recovery  of  his  health.’ 

In  Central  India  ‘ the  worship  of  the  sun  as  the  Supreme 
Deity  is  the  foundation  of  the  religion  of  the  Hos  and 

1 Robertson’s  America,  bk.  iv.  p.  4 Loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  146. 

126.  5 Sproat’s  Scenes  and  Studies  of  • 

2 Whipple’s  Report  on  Indian  Tribes,  Savage  Life,  p.  206. 

p.  36.  Lafitau,  vol  ii.  p.  189.  Tertre’s  6 Loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  196.  See  also 
History  of  the  Caribby  Islands,  p.  236.  Graah’s  Voyage  to  Greenland,  p.  124. 

* Neighbors  in  Schoolcraft’s  Indian  7 Spix  and  Martius,  vol.  ii.  p.  243. 
Tribes,  vol.  ii.  p.  127.  8 Loc.  cit . vol.  ii.  p.  65. 


216 


INDIA.  POLYNESIA. 


Oraons  as  well  as  of  the  Moondahs.  By  the  former  he  is 
invoked  as  Dhurmi,  the  Holy  One.  He  is  the  Creator  and 
the  Preserver,  and  with  reference  to  his  purity,  white 
animals  are  offered  to  him  by  his  votaries/1  The  sun  and 
moon  are  both  regarded  as  deities  by  the  Khonds,  though 
no  ceremonial  worship  is  addressed  to  them.2  In  Northern 
Asia  the  Samoyedes  are  said  to  have  worshipped  the  sun 
and  moon. 

As  might  naturally  be  expected  from  their  habits,  and 
particularly  from  their  partiality  for  nocturnal  ceremonies, 
we  find  traces  of  moon-worship  among  the  Negroes.  In 
Western  Africa,  according  to  Merolla,3  c at  the  appearance 
of  every  new  moon,  these  people  fall  on  their  knees,  or  else 
cry  out,  standing  and  clapping  their  hands,  “ So  may  I 
renew  my  life  as  thou  art  renewed/5  5 They  do  not,  how- 
ever, appear  to  venerate  either  the  sun  or  the  stars.  Bruce 
also  mentions  moon-worship  as  occurring  among  the 
Shangallas.4 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  heavenly  bodies  do  not  appear 
to  be  worshipped  by  the  Polynesians. 

According  to  Lord  Karnes,  ‘ the  inhabitants  of  Celebes 
formerly  acknowledged  no  gods  but  the  sun  and  moon/5 
The  people  of  Borneo  also  are  said  to  have  done  the  same. 

Thus,  then,  I have  attempted  to  show  that  animals  and 
plants,  water,  mountains  and  stones,  fire. and  the  heavenly^ 
bodies,  are,  or  have  been,  all  very  extensively  worshipped. 

These,  indeed,  are  the  principal  deities  of  man  in  this 
stage  of  his  religious  development.  They  are,  however, 
by  no  means  the  only  ones.  The  Scythians  worshipped 
an  iron  scimetar  as  a symbol  of  Mars ; ‘ to  this  scimetar 

1 Colonel  Dalton,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,  xv.  p.  273. 

vol.  yi.  p.  33.  4 Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  35,  vol.  vi.  p. 

2 Forbes  Leslie.  Early  Kaces  of  344. 

Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  496.  5 History  of  Man,  vol.  iv.  p.  252. 

3 Voyage  to  Congo,  Pinkerton,  vol. 


SUNDRY  WORSHIPS. 


217 


they  bring  yearly  sacrifices  of  cattle  and  horses ; and 
to  these  scimetars  they  offer  more  sacrifices  than  to  the 
rest  of  their  gods.*1  In  the  Sagas  many  of  the  swords 
have  special  names,  and  are  treated  with  the  greatest 
respect.  Similarly  the  Feejeeans  regarded  6 certain  clubs 
with  superstitious  respect;*2  and  the  Negroes  of  Irawo, 
a town  in  Western  Yoruba,  worshipped  an  iron  bar  with 
very  expensive  ceremonies.3  The  New  Zealanders  and 
some  of  the  Melanesians  worshipped  the  rainbow.4 

In  Central  India,  as  mentioned  in  p.  191,  a great  variety 
of  inanimate  objects  are  treated  as  deities.  The  Todas  are 
said  to  worship  a buffalo-bell.5  The  Kotas  worship  two 
silver  plates,  which  they  regard  as  husband  and  wife; 
‘they  have  no  other  deity.* 6 The  Kurumbas  worship  stones, 
trees,  and  anthills.7  The  Toreas,  another  Neilgherry  Hill 
tribe,  worship  especially  a c gold  nose-ring,  which  probably 
once  belonged  to  one  of  their  women.*8  Many  other  in- 
animate objects  have  also  been  worshipped.  De  Brosses 
even  mentions  an  instance  of  a king  of  hearts  being  made 
into  a deity.9  According  to  Nonnius,  the  sacred  lyre 
sang  the  victory  of  Jupiter  over  the  Titans  without  being 
touched.10 

According  to  some  of  the  earlier  travellers  in  America, 
even  the  rattle  was  regarded  as  a deity.11  ‘ Thevet, 
Hierome  Staad,  et  le  Sieur  de  Leri,  qui  nous  ont  donne 
les  premieres  relations  des  moeurs  des  Bresiliens,  parois- 
sent  persuadee  que  ces  peuples  regardent  ces  Maraca  ou 
Tamaraca  comme  une  espece  de  divinite ; qu*ils  les  hono- 

1 Her.  iv.  62.  See  also  Klemm,  6 Ibid.  p.  114. 

Werkzeuge  und  Waffen,  p.  225.  7 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  vii.  p.  278. 

2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  219.  8 The  Tribes  of  the  Neilgherries, 

3 Burton’s  Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  192.  p.  67. 

4 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  367.  9 Loc.  cit.  p.  52. 

5 The  Tribes  of  the  Neilgherries,  10  Lafitau,  vol.  i.  p.  205. 

p.  15.  11  P-  211. 


21S 


WORSHIP  OP  THE  RATTLE. 


rent  d’un  culte  religieux ; qu’ils  s’en  servent  dans  toutes 
les  occasions  ou  la  religion  a quelque  part;  que  cliaque 
menage  a le  sien,  a qni  il  offre  constamment  des  offrandes; 
et  snrtout  que  leur  usage  est  tellement  consacre  a la  divi- 
nation, que  ces  sauvages  semblent  croire  que  ces  Maraca 
font  le  siege,  le  lieu  de  la  residence  de  resprit,  qui  les 
inspire,  et  qui  de-la  parle  d’une  maniere  claire,  distincte, 
et  leur  fait  savoir  toutes  ses  volontes.* 


CHAPTER  VI. 


religion  ( concluded ). 

IN  order  to  realise  clearly  tlie  essential  characteristics  of 
the  religions  of  different  races,  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  in  the  stage  at  which  we  have  now  arrived  in  the 
course  of  our  enquiry,  the  modifications  of  which  a 
religion  is  susceptible  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
viz.,  developmental  and  adaptational.  I use  the  term  ‘ de- 
velopmental5 to  signify  those  changes  which  arise  from 
the  intellectual  progress  of  tlie  race.  Thus  a more 
elevated  idea  of  the  Deity  is  a developmental  change.  On 
the  other  hand,  a northern  people  is  apt  to  look  on  the 
sun  as  a beneficent  deity,  while  to  a tropical  race  he  would 
suggest  drought  and  destruction.  Again,  hunters  tend  to 
worship  the  moon,  agriculturists  the  sun.  These  I call 
adaptational  modifications.  They  are  changes  produced, 
not  by  difference  of  race  or  of  civilisation,  but  by 
physical  causes. 

In  some  cases  the  character  of  the  language  has  pro- 
bably exercised  much  influence  over  that  of  religion.  No 
one,  for  instance,  can  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  differ- 
ences existing  between  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  religions. 
All  Aryan  races  have  a complicated  mythology,  which  is 
not  the  case  with  the  Semitic  races.  Moreover,  the 
character  of  the  gods  is  quite  different.  The  latter  have 
El,  Strong;  Bel  or  Baal,  Lord;  Adonis,  Lord;  Shet, 
Master ; Moloch,  King ; Ram  and  Rimmon,  the  Exalted ; 
and  other  similar  names  for  their  deities.  The  Aryans,  on 


220  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ADAPTATIONAL  MODIFICATIONS. 

the  contrary,  Zeus,  the  sky ; Phoebus  Apollo,  the  sun ; 
Neptune,  the  sea;  Mars,  war;  Yenus,  beauty,  '&c.  Max 
Muller1  has  very  ingeniously  endeavoured  to  explain  this 
difference  by  the  different  character  of  the  language  in 
these  two  races. 

In  Semitic  words  the  root  remains  always  distinct  and 
unmistakeable.  In  Aryan,  on  the  contrary,  it  soon  becomes 
altered  and  disguised.  Hence  Semitic  dictionaries  are 
mostly  arranged  according  to  the  roots,  a method  which  in 
Aryan  languages  would  be  most  inconvenient,  the  root 
being  often  obscure,  and  in  many  cases  doubtful.  Now 
take  such  an  expression  as  6 the  sky  thunders.5  In  any 
Semitic  tongue  the  word  c sky 5 would  remain  unaltered, 
and  so  clear  in  its  meaning,  that  it  would  with  difficulty 
come  to  be  thought  of  as  a proper  name.  But  among  the 
Aryans  the  Sanskrit  Dyaus,the  sky, became  the  Greek  Zeus, 
and  when  the  Greek  said  Zsvs  fipovra  his  idea  was  not  the 
sky  thunders,  but  ‘ Zeus  thunders.5  When  the  Gods  were 
thus  once  created,  the  mythology  follows  as  a matter  of 
course.  Some  of  the  statements  may  be  obscure,  but 
when  we  are  told  that  Hupnos,  the  god  of  sleep,  was  the 
father  of  Morpheus,  the  god  of  dreams;  or  that  Yenus 
married  to  Yulcan,  lost  her  heart  to  Mars,  and  that  the 
intrigue  was  made  known  to  Yulcan  by  Apollo,  the  sun, 
we  can  clearly  see  how  such  myths  might  have  arisen. 

The  attitude  of  the  ancients  towards  them  is  very 
interesting.  Homer  and  Hesiod  relate  them,  appa- 
rently without  suspicion,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  the 
uneducated  public  received  them  without  a doubt.  So- 
crates, however,  explains  the  story  that  Boreas  carried 
off  Oreithyia  from  the  Hissos,  to  mean  that  Oreithyia  was 
blown  off  the  rocks  by  the  north  wind.  Ovid  also  says 


1 See  Muller’s  Chips  from  a German  Workshop,  vol.  i.  p.  363. 


ORIGIN  OP  MYTHS. 


221 


that  under  the  name  of  Yesta,  mere  fire  is  to  he  under- 
stood. We  can  hardly  doubt  that  many  others  also  must 
have  clearly  perceived  the  origin  of  at  any  rate  a portion 
of  these  myths,  but  they  were  probably  restrained'  from 
expressing  their  opinion  by  the  dread  of  incurring  the 
odium  of  heterodoxy. 

One  great  charm  of  this  explanation  is  that  we  thus 
remove  some  of  the  revolting  features  of  ancient  myths. 
Thus  as  the  sun  destroys  the  darkness  from*  which  it 
springs,  and  at  evening  disappears  in  the  twilight;  so 
(Edipus  was  fabled  to  have  killed  his  father,  and  then 
married  his  mother.  In  this  way  the  whole  of  that  terrible 
story  may  be  explained  as  arising,  not  from  the  depravity 
of  the  human  heart,  but  from  a mistaken  application  of 
the  statement  that  the  sun  destroys  the  darkness,  and 
ultimately  marries,  as  it  were,  the  twilight  from  which  it 
sprang. 

But  although  Poetry  may  thus  throw  much  light  on  the 
origin  of  the  myths  which  formed  the  religion  of  Greece 
and  Home,  it  cannot  explain  the  origin  or  character  of 
religion  among  the  lower  savages,  because  a mythology  such 
as  that  of  Greece  and  Rome  can  only  arise  amongst  a people 
which  have  already  made  considerable  progress.  Tempting, 
therefore,  as  it  may  be  to  seek  in  the  nature  of  language 
and  the  use  of  poetical  expressions,  an  explanation  of  the 
religious  systems  of  the  lower  races,  and  fully  admitting 
the  influence  which  these  causes  have  exercised,  we  must 
look  deeper  for  the  origin  of  religion,  and  can  be  satisfied 
only  by  an  explanation  which  is  applicable  to  the  lowest 
races  possessing  any  religious  opinions.  In  the  preceding 
chapters  I have  attempted  to  do  this,  and  to  show  how 
certain  phenomena,  as  for  instance  sleep  and  dreams,  pain, 
disease,  and  death,  have  naturally  created  in  the  savage 
mind  a belief  in  the  existence  of  mysterious  and  invisible 


222 


SHAMANISM. 


Beings.  The  last  chapter  was  devoted  to  Totemism,  and 
we  now  pass  to  what  may  be  most  conveniently  termed 
‘ Shamanism.5 


SHAMANISM. 

As  Totemism  overlies  Fetichism  so  does  Shamanism 
overlie  Totemism.  The  word  is  derived  from  the  name 
used  in  Siberia,  where  the  ‘ Shamans 5 work  themselves  up 
into  a fury,  supposing  or  pretending  that  in  this  condition 
they  are  inspired  by  the  Spirit  in  whose  name  they  speak, 
and  through  whose  inspiration  they  are  enabled  to  answer 
questions  and  to  foretell  the  future.  In  the  phases  of 
religion  hitherto  considered  (the  deities,  if  indeed  they 
deserve  the  name),  are  regarded  as  visible  to  all,  and 
present  amongst  us.  Shamanism  is  a considerable  advance, 
inasmuch  as  it  presents  us  with  a higher  conception  of 
religion.  Although  the  name  is  Siberian,  the  phase  of 
thought  is  widely  distributed,  and  seems  to  be  a necessary 
stage  in  the  progress  of  religious  development.  Those 
who  are  disposed  to  adopt  the  view  advocated  in  this  work 
will  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  c Shamanism 5 is  no 
definite  system  of  theology.  Wrangel,  however,  regarding 
Shamanism  as  religion  in  the  ordinary  sense,  was  astonished 
at  this  : 6 it  is  remarkable,5  he  says,  ‘ that  Shamanism  has 
no  dogmas  of  any  kind;  it  is  not  a system  taught  or 
handed  down  from  one  to  another ; though  it  is  so  widely 
spread,  it  seems  to  originate  with  each  individual  sep- 
arately, as  the  fruit  of  a highly  excited  imagination,  acted 
upon  by  external  impressions,  which  closely  resemble  each 
other  throughout  the  deserts  of  Northern  Siberia.51 

It  is  far  from  easy  in  practice  always  to  distinguish 
Shamanism  from  Totemism  on  the  one  hand,  and  Idolatry 


1 Siberia  and  Polar  Sea,  p.  123. 


SIBERIA.  GREENLAND. 


223 


on  the  other.  The  main  difference  lies  in  the  conception 
of  the  Deity.  In  Totemism  the  deities  inhabit  our  earth, 
in  Shamanism  they  live  generally  in  a world  of  their  own, 
and  trouble  themselves  little  about  what  is  passing  here. 
The  Shaman  is  occasionally  honoured  by  the  presence 
of  Deity,  or  is  allowed  to  visit  the  heavenly  regions. 
Among  the  Esquimaux  the  6 Angekok  * answers  precisely 
to  the  Shaman.  Graah  thus  describes  a scene  in  Greenland. 

The  Angekok  came  in  the  evening,  and,  ‘ the  lamps  1 
being  extinguished,  and  skins  hung  before  the  windows 
(for  such  arts,  for  evident  reasons,  are  best  practised  in 
the  dark),  took  his  station  on  the  floor,  close  by  a well- 
dried  seal-skin  there  suspended,  and  commenced  rattling 
it,  beating  the  tambourine  and  singing,  in  which  last  he 
was  seconded  by  all  present.  From  time  to  time  his  chant 
was  interrupted  by  a cry  of  “ Goie,  Goie,  Goie,  Goie,  Goie, 
Goie  ! ” the  meaning  of  which  I did  not  comprehend, 
coming  first  from  one  corner  of  the  hut,  and  then  from 
the  other.  Presently  all  was  quiet,  nothing  being  heard 
but  the  angekok  pulling  and  blowing  as  if  struggling  with 
something  superior  to  him  in  strength,  and  then  again  a 
sound  resembling  somewhat  that  of  castanets,  whereupon 
commenced  once  more  the  same  song  as  before,  and  the 
same  cry  of  “ Goie,  Goie,  Goie  ! 99  In  this  way  a whole 
hour  elapsed  before  the  wizard  could  make  the  torngak, 
or  spirit,  obey  his  summons.  Come  he  did,  however,  at 
last,  and  his  approach  was  announced  by  a strange  rushing 
sound,  very  like  the  sound  of  a large  bird  flying  beneath 
the  roof.  The  angekok  still  chanting,  now  proposed  his 
questions,  which  were  replied  to  in  a voice  quite  strange 
to  my  ears,  but  which  seemed  to  me  to  proceed  from  the 
entrance  passage,  near  which  the  angekok  had  taken 


Graak’s  Voyage  to  Greenland,  p.  123  See  also  Egede’s  Greenland,  p.  183. 


224 


PACIFIC  ISLANDS. 


his  station.  These  responses,  however,  were  somewhat 
oracnlar,  insomuch  that  Ernenek’s  wives  were  obliged  to 
request  some  more  explicit  answer,  whereupon  they  received 
the  comfortable  assurance  that  he  was  alive  and  well,  and 
would  shortly  make  his  appearance.5 

The  account  given  by  Crantz  agrees  with  the  above  in  all 
essential  particulars.1 

Williams 2 gives  the  following  very  similar  account  of  a 
scene  in  Fiji  : — 6 Unbroken  silence  follows ; the  priest 
becomes  absorbed  in  thought  and  all  eyes  watch  him  with 
unblinking  steadiness.  In  a few  minutes  he  trembles ; 
slight  distortions  are  seen  in  his  face,  and  twitching  move- 
ments in  his  limbs.  These  increase  to  a violent  muscular 
action,  which  spreads  until  the  whole  frame  is  strongly 
convulsed,  and  the  man  shivers  as  with  a strong  ague  fit. 
In  some  instances  this  is  accompanied  with  murmurs  and 
sobs,  the  veins  are  greatly  enlarged  and  the  circulation  of 
the  blood  quickened.  The  priest  is  now  possessed  by  his 
god,  and  all  his  words  and  actions  are  considered  as  no 
longer  his  own,  but  those  of  the  deity  who  has  entered  into 
him.  Shrill  cries  of  “ Koi  au,  Koi*  au ! 55  “ It  is  I,  It  is  I ! 55 
fill  the  air,  and  the  god  is  supposed  thus  to  notify  his 
approach.  While  giving  the  answer,  the  priest’s  eyes 
stand  out  and  roll  as  in  a frenzy ; his  voice  is  unnatural, 
has  face  pale,  his  lips  livid,  his  breathing  depressed,  and 
his  entire  appearance  like  that  of  a furious  madman  ; the 
sweat  runs  from  every  pore,  and  tears  start  from  his 
strained  eyes  ; after  which  the  symptoms  gradually  disap- 
pear. The  priest  looks  round  with  a vacant  stare, 
and,  as  the  god  says,  “ I depart,55  announces  his  actual 
departure  by  violently  flinging  himself  down  on  the  mat, 
or  by  suddenly  striking  the  ground  with  his  club,  when 

1 History  of  Greenland,  voL  i.  p.  2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.224. 
210. 


IDOLATRY. 


225 


those  at  a distance  are  informed  by  blasts  on  the  conch,  or 
the  firing  of  a musket,  that  the  deity  has  returned  into 
the  world  of  spirits.  The  convulsive  movements  do  nor 
entirely  disappear  for  some  time.5  The  process  described 
by  Dobritzhoffer 1 as  occurring  among  the  Abipones  is  also 
somewhat  similar. 

Among  the  Negroes  of  W.  Africa  Brue 2 mentions  a ‘ pro- 
phet 5 who  pretended  ‘ to  be  inspired  by  the  Deity  in  such 
a manner  as  to  know  the  most  hidden  secrets ; and  go 
invisible  wherever  he  pleased,  as  well  as  to  make  his  voice 
be  heard  at  the  greatest  distance.  His  disciples  and  ac- 
complices attested  the  truth  of  what  he  said  by  a thousand 
fabulous  relations;  so  that  the  common  people,  always 
credulous  and  fond  of  novelty,  readily  gave  in  to  the  cheat.5 

Colonel  Dalton  states  that  ‘the  paganism  of  the  Ho 
and  Moondah  in  all  essential  features  is  shamanistic.’3 

IDOLATRY. 

The  worship  of  Idols  characterises  a somewhat  higher 
stage  of  human  development.  We  find  no  traces  of  it 
among  the  lowest  races  of  men ; and  Lafitau 4 says  truly, 
‘ On  peut  dire  en  general  que  le  grand  nombre  des  peuples 
sauvages  n5a  point  d’idoles.5  The  error  of  regarding 
Idolatry  as  the  general  religion  of  low  races,  has  no  doubt 
mainly  arisen  from  confusing  the  Idol  and  the  Fetich. 
Fetichism,  however,  is  an  attack  on  the  Deity,  Idolatry  is 
an  act  of  submission  to  him;  rude,  no  doubt,  but  yet 
humble.  Hence  Fetichism  and  Idolatry  are  not  only 
different,  but  opposite,  so  that  the  one  could  not  be 
developed  directly  out  of  the  other.  We  must  therefore 

1 History  of  the  Abipones,  vol.  ii.  3 Trann.  Ethn.  Soc.  1 868,  p.  32. 

p.  73.  4 Mceurs  des  Sauvages  Americains, 

2 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  vol.  i.  p.  151. 

ii.  p.  83. 


11 


226 


ABSENCE  OF  IDOLATBY 


expect  to  find  between  them,  as  indeed  we  do,  a stage  of 
religion  without  either  the  one  or  the  other. 

Neither  among  the  Esquimaux  nor  the  Tinne/  says 
Richardson,  ‘did  I observe  any  image  or  visible  object  of 
worship/1  Carver  states  that  the  Canadian  Indians  had 
no  idols ; 2 and  this  seems  to  have  been  true  of  the  North 
American  Indians  generally.  Lafitau  mentions  as  an  ex- 
ception the  existence  of  an  idol  named  Oki  in  Yirginia.3 

In  Eastern  Africa  Burton  states  that  he  knows  ‘ but  one 
people,  the  Wanyika,  who  have  certain  statuettes  called 
Kisukas/  Nor  do  the  West  African  negroes  worship  idols.4 
It  is  true  that  some  writers  mention  idols,  but  the  con- 
text almost  always  shows  that  fetiches  are  really  meant. 
In  the  kingdom  of  Whydah  ‘ Agoye 9 was  represented 
under  the  form  of  a deformed  black  man  from  whose  head 
proceed  lizards  and  snakes,5  offering  a striking  similarity 
to  some  of  the  Indian  idols.  This  is,  however,  an  excep- 
tional case.  Battel  only  mentions  particularly  two  idols  f 
and  Bosnian7  expressly  says  that  6 on  the.  Gold  Coast  the 
natives  are  not  in  the  least  acquainted  with  image-worship  ; 
adding,  6 but  at  Ardra  there  are  thousands  of  idols/  i.e. 
fetiches.  At  Loango  there  was  a small  black  image  named 
Chikokke,  which  was  placed  in  a little  house  close  to  the 
port.8  These,  however,  were  merely  fetiches  in  human 
form.  Thus  we  are  told  by  the  same  author  that  in 
Kakongo,  the  kingdom  which  lies  to  the  south  of  Loango, 
the  natives  during  the  plague  6 burnt  their  idols,  saying. 
If  they  will  not  help  us  in  such  a misfortune  as  this , when  can 
we  expect  they  should?’*  Thus,  apparently,  doubting  not 
so  much  their  power  as  their  will.  Again,  in  Congo,  the 

1 Boat  Journey,  vol.  ii.  p.  44.  pp.  26  and  50. 

2 Travels,  p.  387.  6 Adventures  of  A.  Battel.  Pinkej- 

3 Vol.  i*p.  168.  on,  vol.  xvi.  p.  331. 

4 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  7 Bosnian’s  Guinea.  Pinkerton, 
vol.  ii.  p.  240  for  Futa,  and  for  Guinea  oc.  cit.  p.  403. 

as  far  as  Ardrah.  p.  666.  8 Astley,  loc.  cit.  p.  216. 

6 Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  9 Astley,  loc.  cit.  p.  217. 


AMONG  THE  LOWER  RACES. 


227 


so-called  idols  are  placed  in  fields  to  protect  the  growing 
crops.1  This  is  clearly  the  function  of  a fetich,  not  of  a 
true  idol. 

Idolatry,  says  Williams  of  the  Fijian,  ‘ he  seems  never 
to  have  known;  for  he  makes  no  attempt  to  fashion 
material  representations  of  his  gods/2  As  regards  the 
New  Zealanders,  Yate3  says,  that  ‘though  remarkably 
superstitious,  they  have  no  gods  that  they  worship ; nor 
have  they  anything  to  represent  a being  which  they  call 
God/  Dieffenbach  also  observes  that  in  New  Zealand 
‘ there  is  no  worship  of  idols,  or  of  bodily  representations 
of  the  Atoua/  4 

Speaking  of  the  Singe  Dyaks,5  Sir  James  Brooke  says, 

Religion  they  have  none ; and  although  they  know  the 
name  for  a god?  (which  is  probably  taken  from  the  Hindoos), 
‘ they  have  no  priests  nor  idols,  say  no  prayers,  offer  no 
offerings/  He  subsequently  modified  this  opinion  on  some 
points,  but  as  regards  the  absence  of  idols  it  seems  to  be 
correct. 

The  Kols  of  Central  India  worship  the  sun,  ‘ material 
idol  worship  they  have  none/6  Originally,  says  Dubois, 
the  Hindoos  did  not  resort  ‘ to  images  of  stone  or  other 
materials.  . . . but  when  the  people  of  India  had  deified 
their  heroes  or  other  mortals,  they  began  then,  and  not 
before,  to  have  recourse  to  statues  and  images/ 7 In  China 
‘it  is  observable8  that  there  is  not  to  be  found,  in  the 
canonical  books,  the  least  footstep  of  idolatrous  worship 
till  the  image  of  Fo  was  brought  into  China,  several  ages, 
after  Confucius/ 

The  Ostyaks  never  made  an  image  of  their  god 

1 Astley,  loc.'cit.  vol.  iii.  p.  229.  vol.  i.  p.  231. 

2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  216.  6 Dalton,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,  N.  S., 

8 Loc.  cit.  p.  141.  vol.  vi.  p.  32. 

4 Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  118.  7 Dubois,  The  People  of  India,  p.  379 

5 Keppel’s  Expedition  to  Borneo,  ~8  Astley,  vol.  iv.  p.  203. 


228 


ORIGIN  OF  IDOLATRY. 


‘ Toruim.’1  In  fact,  idols  do  not  occnr  until  we  arrive  at 
the  stage  of  the  highest  Polynesian  Islanders.  Even  then 
they  are  often,  as  Ellis  expressly  tells  us,2  mere  shapeless 
pieces  of  wood ; thus  leaving  much  to  the  imagination.  It 
may,  I think,  he  laid  down  almost  as  a constant  rule,  that 
mankind  arrives  at  the  stage  of  monarchy  in  government 
before  he  reaches  idolatry  in  religion. 

The  idol  usually  assumes  the  human  form,  and  idolatry 
is  closely  connected  with  that  form  of  religion  which 
consists  in  the  worship  of  ancestors.  We  have  already 
seen  how  imperfectly  uncivilised  man  realises  the  concep- 
tion of  death;  and  we  cannot  wonder  that  death  and  sleep 
should  long  have  been  intimately  connected  together  in 
the  human  mind.  The  savage,  however,  knows  well  that 
in  sleep  the  spirit  lives,  even  though  the  body  appears  to 
be  dead.  Morning  after  morning  he  rouses  himself,  and 
sees  others  rise,  from  sleep.  Naturally  therefore  he 
endeavours  to  rouse  the  dead.  Nor  can  we  wonder  at  the 
very  general  custom  of  providing  food  and  other  necessaries 
for  the  use  of  the  dead.  Among  races  leading  a settled 
and  quiet  life  this  habit  would  tend  to  continue  longer 
and  longer.  Prayers  to  the  dead  would  reasonably  follow 
from  such  customs,  for  even  without  attributing  a greater 
power  to  the  dead  than  to  the  living,  they  might  yet,  from 
their  different  sphere  and  nature,  exercise  a considerable 
power  whether  for  good  or  evil.  But  it  is  impossible  to 
distinguish  a request  to  an  invisible  being  from  prayer ; 
or  a powerful  spirit  from  a demi-god. 

The  nations  of  Mysore  at  the  new  moon  c observe  a feast 
in  honour  of  deceased  parents.’3  The  Kurumbars  of  the 
Deccan  also  ‘ sacrifice  to  the  spirits  of  ancestors,’  and  the 

1 Erman,  loc.  cit . vol.  ii.  p.  50.  3 Buchanan,  quoted  in  Trans.  Ethn. 

2 Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  Soc.,  N.S.,  vol.  viii.  p.  96. 

220. 


ORIGIN  OP  IDOLATRY. 


229 


same  is  the  case  with,  the  Santals.1  Indeed,  the  worship 
of  ancestors  appears  to  be  more  or  less  prevalent  among 
all  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  Central  India. 

Burton2 *  considers  that  some  of  the  Egba  deities  are 
c palpably  men  and  women  of  note  in  their  day.5 

The  Kaffirs  also  sacrifice  and  pray  to  their  deceased 
relatives,  although  ‘ it  would  perhaps  be  asserting  too 
much  to  say  absolutely  that  they  believe  in  the  existence 
and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.53  In  fact,  their  belief 
seems  to  go  no  further  than  this,  that  the  ghosts  of  the 
dead  haunt  for  a certain  time  their  previous  dwelling- 
places,  and  either  assist  or  plague  the  living.  No  special 
powers  are  attributed  to  them,  and  it  would  be  a misnomer 
to  call  them  c Deities.5 

Other  races  endeavour  to  preserve  the  memory  of  the 
dead  by  rude  statues.  Thus  Pallas4  mentions  that  the 
Ostyaks  of  Siberia  c rendent  aussi  un  culte  a leurs  morts.  Ils 
sculptent  des  figures  de  bois  pour  representer  les  Ostiaks 
celebres.  Dans  les  repas  de  commemoration  on  place 
devant  ces  figures  une  partie  des  mets.  Les  femmes  qui 
ont  cheri  leurs  maris  ont  de  pareilles  figures,  les  couchent 
avec  elles,  les  parent,  et  ne  mangent  point  sans  leur  pre- 
senter une  partie  de  leur  portion.5  Erman5  also  mentions 
that  when  a man  dies  ‘ the  relatives  form  a rude  wooden 
image  representing,  and  in  honour  of,  the  deceased,  which 
is  set  up  in  their  yurt,  and  receives  divine  honours 5 for  a 
certain  time.  ‘At  every  meal  they  set  an  offering  of  food 
before  the  image;  and  should  this  represent  a deceased 
husband,  the  widow  embraces  it  from  time  to  time  and 
lavishes  on  it  every  sign  of  attachment.5  In  ordinary 


1 Elliott,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,  N.S.,  also  Callaway’s  Religious  System  of 

vol.  yiii.  pp.  104,  106.  the  Amazulu. 

2 Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  191.  4 Pallas’  Voyages,  vol.  iv.  p.  79. 

The  Basutos;  Casalis,  p.  243.  See  5 Erman,  loc . tit.  vol.  ii.  p.  51. 


230 


ORIGIN  OF  IDOLATRY. 


cases  this  semi- worship  only  lasts  a few  years,  after  which 
the  image  is  buried.  ‘ But  when  a Shaman  dies,  this  custom 
changes,  in  his  favour,  into  a complete  and  decided  canon- 
isation ; for  it  is  not  thought  enough  that,  in  this  case, 
the  dressed  block  of  wood  which  represents  the  deceased 
should  receive  homage  for  a limited  period,  but  the  priest’s 
descendants  do  their  best  to  keep  him  in  vogue  from 
generation  to  generation;  and  by  well-contrived  oracles 
and  other  arts,  they  manage  to  procure  offerings  for  these 
their  families’  penates,  as  abundant  as  those  laid  on  the 
altars  of  the  universally  acknowledged  gods.  But  that 
these  latter  also  have  an  historical  origin,  that  they  were 
originally  monuments  of  distinguished  men,  to  which 
prescription  and  the  interest  of  the  Shamans  gave  by 
degrees  an  arbitrary  meaning  and  importance,  seems  to 
me  not  liable  to  doubt ; and  this  is,  furthermore,  corro- 
borated by  the  circumstance  that  of  all  the  sacred  yurts 
dedicated  to  these  saints,  which  have  been  numerous  from 
the  earliest  times  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river,  only  one  has 
been  seen  (near  Samarovo)  containing  the  image  of  a 
woman.’ 

It  seems  to  me  that  in  other  countries  also,  statues  have 
in  this  manner  come  to  be  worshipped  as  Deities. 

Solomon,1  long  ago,  observed  truly  of  idols  that 

‘ 13.  Neither  were  they  from  the  beginning,  neither  shall 
they  be  for  ever. 

6 14.  For  by  the  vain  glory  of  men  they  entered  into  the 
world,  and  therefore  shall  they  come  shortly  to  an  end. 

‘15.  For  a father  afflicted  with  untimely  mourning, 
when  he  hath  made  an  image  of  his  child  soon  taken 
away,  now  honoured  him  as  a god,  which  was  then 
a dead  man,  and  delivered  to  those  that  were  under  him 
ceremonies  and  sacrifices. 


1 Wisdom,  ch.  xiv.  p.  12. 


IDOLS  NOT  MEEE  EMBLEMS. 


231 


4 16.  Thus,  in  process  of  time,  an  ungodly  custom  grown 
strong  was  kept  as  a law,  and  graven  images  were  wor- 
shipped by  the  commandments  of  kings  : 

c 17.  Whom  men  could  not  honour  in  presence,  because 
they  dwelt  far  off,  they  took  the  counterfeit  of  the  visage 
from  far,  and  made  an  express  image  of  a king  whom  they 
honoured,  to  the  end  that  by  this  their  forwardness,  they 
might  flatter  him  that  was  absent,  as  if  he  were  present. 

‘ 18.  Also  the  singular  diligence  of  the  artificer  did  help 
to  set  forward  the  ignorant  to  more  superstition. 

‘ 19.  For  he,  perad venture  willing  to  please  one  in 
authority,  forced  all  his  skill  to  make  the  resemblance  of 
the  best  fashion. 

6 20.  And  so  the  multitude,  allured  by  the  grace  of  the 
work,  took  him  now  for  a god,  which  a little  before  was 
but  honoured  as  a man.5 

The  idol  is  by  no  means  regarded  as  a mere  emblem. 
In  India,1  when  the  offerings  of  the  people  have  been  less 
profuse  than  usual,  the  Brahmans  sometimes  c put  the 
idols  in  irons,  chaining  their  hands  and  feet.  They  ex- 
hibit them  to  the  people  in  this  humiliating  state,  into 
which  they  tell  them  they  have  been  brought  by  rigorous 
creditors,  from  whom  their  gods  had  been  obliged,  in 
times  of  trouble,  to  borrow  money  to  supply  their  wants. 
They  declare  that  the  inexorable  creditors  refuse  to  set 
the  god  at  liberty,  until  the  whole  sum,  with  interest,  shall 
have  been  paid.  The  people  come  forward,  alarmed  at  the 
sight  of  their  divinity  in  irons  ; and  thinking  it  the  most 
meritorious  of  all  good  works  to  contribute  to  his  deliver- 
ance, they  raise  the  sum  required  by  the  Brahmans  for 
that  purpose.5 

‘ A statue  of  Hercules2  was  worshipped  at  Tyre,  not  as  a 

1 Dubois,  The  People  of  India,  p.  2 History  of  Man,  vol,  iv.  p.  316. 
4.C7. 


232 


WORSHIP  OF  ANCESTORS. 


representative  of  the  Deity  but  as  the  Deity  himself ; and 
accordingly  when  Tyre  was  besieged  by  Alexander,  the 
Deity  was  fast  bound  in  chains,  to  prevent  him  from 
deserting  to  the  enemy/ 

It  is  hard  for  us  to  appreciate  the  difficulty  which  an 
undeveloped  mind  finds  in  raising  itself  to  any  elevated 
conception.  Thus  Campbell  mentions  that  a Highlander 
wishing  to  describe  a castle  of  the  utmost  possible  mag- 
nificence, ended  with  this  climax : c That  was  the  beautiful 
castle  ! There  was  not  a shadow  of  a thing  that  was 
for  the  use  of  a castle  that  was  not  in  it,  even  to  a herd 
for  the  geese/  As,  however,  civilisation  progresses,  and 
the  chiefs,  becoming  more  despotic,  exact  more  and  more 
respect,  the  people  are  introduced  to  conceptions  of  power 
and  magnificence  higher  than  any  which  they  had  pre- 
viously entertained.  In  many  of  the  cases  above  quoted 
the  religion  is  merely  in  the  stage  of  Totemism,  but  as 
men  advanced  in  civilisation  they  became  more  and  more 
impressed  by  the  mystery  of  existence,  and  gradually 
acquired  more  elevated  conceptions  of  Deity. 

Hence,  though  the  worship  of  ancestors  occurs  among 
races  in  the  stage  of  Totemism,  it  long  survives,  and  may 
be  regarded  as  characterising  Idolatry,  which  is  really  a 
higher  religion;  and  generally,  though  not  always,  indicates 
a higher  mental  condition  than  the  worship  of  animals  or 
even  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  At  first  sight  the  reverse 
would  appear  to  be  the  case  : most  would  regard  the  sun 
as  a far  grander  deity  than  any  in  human  form.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  this  is  not  so,  and  sun-worship  is 
generally,  though  not  invariably,  associated  with  a lower 
idea  of  the  Deity  than  is  the  case  with  Idolatry.  This 
arises  partly  from  the  fact  that  the  gradually  increasing 
power  of  chiefs  and  kings  has  familiarised  the  mind  with 
the  existence  of  a power  greater  than  any  which  had  been 


WOKSHIP  OF  MEN. 


233 


previously  conceived.  Tims  in  Western  Africa,  the  slave 
trade  having  added  considerably  to  the  wealth  and  conse- 
quently to  the  power  of  the  chiefs  or  kings,  they  maintained 
much  state,  and  insisted  upon  being  treated  with  servile 
homage.  No  man  was  allowed  to  eat  with  them,  nor  to 
approach  them  excepting  on  his  knees  with  an  appear- 
ance of  fear,  which  no  doubt  was  in  many  cases  suffi- 
ciently well-founded. . 

These  marks  of  respect  so  much  resembled  adoration, 
that  4 the  individuals1  of  the  lower  classes  are  persuaded 
that  his  (the  king’s)  power  is  not  confined  to  the  earth, 
and  that  he  has  credit  enough  to  make  rain  fall  from 
heaven:  hence  they  fail  not,  when  a continuance  of 
drought  makes  them  fearful  about  the  harvest,  to  re- 
present to  him  that  if  he  does  not  take  care  to  water  the 
lands  of  his  kingdom,  they  will  die  of  hunger,  and  will 
find  it  impossible  to  make  him  the  usual  presents.’ 

Battel  also  mentions  that  the  king  of  Loango  c is 
honoured  among  them  as  though  he  were  a god ; and  is 
called  Sambee  and  Pango,  which  means  God.  They  believe 
he  can  let  them  have  rain  when  he  likes.’2  He  is  so  holy 
that  no  one  is  allowed  to  see  him  eat  or  drink.  The 
tyrants  of  Natal,  says  Casalis,  6 exacted  almost  divine 
homage.’3 

The  king  and  queen  of  Tahiti  were  regarded  as  so  sacred 
that  nothing  once  used  by  them,  not  even  the  sounds 
forming  their  names,  could  be  used  for  any  ordinary  pur- 
pose.4 The  language  of  the  court  was  characterised  by 
the  most  ridiculous  adulation.  The  king’s  ‘ houses  were 
called  the  aarai,  the  clouds  of  heaven ; anuanua,  the  rain- 

1 Proyart’s  History  of  Loango,  Pin-  2 Pinkerton’s  Travels,  vol.  xvi.  p. 
kerton,  vol.  xvi.  p.  577.  See  also  Bos-  330. 
man,  loc.  cit.  pp.  488,  491.  Astley’s  3 The  Basutos,  p.  21 9. 

Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  pp.  70,  4 Ellis’  Polynesian  Besearches,  vol 

223,  226.  ii.  pp.  348,  360. 


234 


WORSHIP  OF  MEH. 


bow  was  the  name  of  the  canoe  in  which  he  voyaged ; his 
voice  was  called  thunder ; the  glare  of  the  torches  in  his 
dwelling  was  denominated  lightning ; and  when  the  people 
saw  them  in  the  evening,  as  they  passed  near  his  abode, 
instead  of  saying  the  torches  were  burning  in  the  palace, 
they  would  observe  that  the  lightning  was  flashing  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven.5 

Man- worship  would  not,  indeed,  be  long  confined  to  the 
dead.  In  many  cases  it  extends  to  the  living  also. 
Indeed,  the  savage  who  worships  an  animal  or  a tree,  would 
see  no  absurdity  in  worshipping  a man.  His  chief  is,  in 
his  eyes,  almost  as  powerful,  if  not  more  so*  than  his 
Deity.  Yet  man-worship  does  not  prevail  in  altogether 
uncivilised  communities,  because  the  chiefs,  associating 
constantly  with  their  followers,  lack  that  mystery  which 
religion  requires,  and  which  nocturnal  animals  so  emi- 
nently possess.  As,  however,  civilisation  progresses,  and 
the  chiefs  separate  themselves  more  and  more  from  their 
subjects,  this  ceases  to  be  the  case  and  man- worship 
becomes  an  important  element  of  religion. 

The  worship  of  a great  chief  seems  quite  as  natural  as 
that  of  an  idol.  ( Why,5  said  a Mongol1  to  Friar  Ascelin, 
‘ since  you  Christians  make  no  scruple  to  adore  sticks  and 
stones,  why  do  you  refuse  to  do  the  same  honour  to  Bayoth 
Hoy,  whom  the  Khan  hath  ordered  to  be  adored  in  the 
same  manner  as  he  is  himself  ? 5 This  worship  is,  however, 
almost  always  accompanied  by  a belief  in  higher  beings. 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  Hew  Zealanders  and  some 
other  nations  have  entirely  abandoned  the  worship  of 
animals,  &c.,  without  as  yet  realising  the  higher  stage  of 
Idolatry,  owing  probably  in  great  measure  to  their  political 
condition.  In  other  cases  where  Shamanism  has  not  so 


Astley,  yoI.  iv.  p.  551.* 


ASIA.  PACIFIC  ISLANDS.  AFRICA. 


235 


effectually  replaced  Totemism,  the  establishment  of  mon- 
archical government  with  its  usual  pomp  and  ceremonial, 
led  to  a much  more  organised  worship  of  the  old  gods. 
Of  this  the  serpent-worship  in  Western  Africa,  and  the 
sun-worship  in  Peru,  are  striking  examples. 

I do  not  therefore  wonder  that  white  men  should  have 
been  so  often  taken  for  deities.  This  was  the  case  with 
Captain  Cook  in  the  Pacific,  with  Lander  in  Western 
Africa,  and,  as  already  mentioned,  Mrs.  Thomson  was 
regarded  by  the  North  Australians  as  a spirit,  though 
she  lived  with  them  for  some  years. 

6 Tuikilakila,1  the  chief  of  Somosomo,  offered  Mr.  Hunt 
a preferment  of  the  same  sort.  “ If  you  die  first,55  said  he, 

I shall  make  you  my  god.55  In  fact  there  appears  to  be 
no  certain  line  of  demarcation  between  departed  spirits  and 
gods,  nor  between  gods  and  living  men,  for  many  of  the 
priests  and  old  chiefs  are  considered  as  sacred  persons,  and 
not  a few  of  them  will  also  claim  to  themselves  the  right 
of  divinity.  “ I am  a god,55  Tuikilakila  would  sometimes 
say ; and  he  believed  it  too.  They  were  not  merely  the 
words  of  his  lips  ; he  believed  he  was  something  above  a 
mere  man.5 

It  seems  at  first  sight  hard  to  understand  how  men  can 
be  regarded  immortal.  Yet  even  this  belief  has  been 
entertained  in  various  countries. 

Merolla  tells  us2  that  in  his  time  the  wizards  of  Congo 
were  called  Scinghili,  that  is  to  say  Gods  of  the  Earth. 
The  head  of  them  is  styled  c Ganga  Chitorne,  being  reputed 
God  of  all  the  Earth.5  c He  further  asserts  that  his  body 
is  not  capable  of  suffering  a natural  death ; and,  therefore, 
to  confirm  his  adorers  in  that  opinion,  whenever  he  finds 
his  end  approaching,  either  through  age  or  disease,  he  calls 


1 Prskine’s  Western  Pacific,  p.  246. 


2 Pinkerton,  yol.  xyi.  p.  226,  et  seq* 


236 


THE  GEEAT  LAMA. 


for  such  a one  of  his  disciples  as  he  designs  to  succeed 
him,  and  pretends  to  communicate  to  him  his  great  powers  : 
and  afterwards  in  public  (where  this  tragedy  is  always 
acted)  he  commands  him  to  tie  a halter  about  his  neck 
and  to  strangle  him  therewith,  or  else  to  take  a club,  and 
knock  him  down  dead.  This  command  being  once  pro- 
nounced, is  soon  executed,  and  the  wizard  thereby  sent  a 
martyr  to  the  devil.  The  reason  that  this  is  done  in  public, 
is  to  make  known  the  successor  ordained  by  the  last  breath 
of  the  predecessor,  and  to  show  that  it  has  the  same  power 
of  producing  rain,  and  the  like.  If  this  office  were  not 
thus  continually  filled,  the  inhabitants  say  that  the  earth 
would  soon  become  barren,  and  mankind  consequently 
perish.  In  my  time,  one  of  these  magicians  was  cast  into 
the  sea,  another  into  a river,  a mother  and  her  son  put  to 
death,  and  many  others  banished  by  our  order,  as  has 
been  said/ 

So  also  the  Great  Lama  of  Thibet  is  regarded  as  im 
mortal;  though  his  spirit  occasionally  passes  from  one 
earthly  tenement  to  another. 

These,  then,  are  the  lowest  intellectual  stages  through 
which  religion  has  passed.  It  is  no  part  of  my  plan  to  des- 
cribe the  various  religious  beliefs  of  the  higher  races.  I have, 
however,  stopped  short  sooner  perhaps  than  I should  other- 
wise have  done,  because  the  -worship  of  personified  prin- 
ciples, such  as  Fear,  Love,  Hope,  &c.,  could  not  have  been 
treated  apart  from  that  of  the  Phallus  or  Lingam  with 
which  it  was  so  intimately  associated  in  Greece,  India, 
Mexico,  and  elsewhere ; and  which,  though  at  first  modest 
and  pure,  as  all  religions  are  in  their  origin,  led  to  such 
abominable  practices,  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  painful 
chapters  in  human  history. 

I will  now  therefore  pass  on  to  some  points  intimately 


THE  WORSHIP  OP  PRINCIPLES.  237 

connected  with  religion,  but  which  could  not  be  conve- 
niently treated  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  work. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  that  when  once 
the  idea  of  Spiritual  Beings  had  become  habitual — when 
once  man  had  come  to  regard  them  as  exercising  an  im- 
portant influence,  whether  for  good  or  evil — he  would 
endeavour  to  secure  their  assistance  and  support.  Before 
a war  he  would  try  to  propitiate  them  by  promising  a 
share  of  the  spoil  after  victory ; and  fear,  even  if  no  higher 
motive,  would  ensure  the  performance  of  his  promise. 

We,  no  doubt,  regard,  and  justly  regard,  sacrifices  as 
unnecessary.  ‘ I will  take  no  bullock,5  says  David,1 2 3  ‘ out  of 
thine  house,  nor  he-goat  out  of  thy  folds.5  This  sentiment, 
however,  was  far  in  advance  of  its  time,  and  even  Solomon 
felt  that  sacrifices,  in  the  then  condition  of  the  Jews,  were 
necessary.  They  are,  indeed,  a stage  through  which,  in 
any  natural  process  of  development,  religion  must  pass. 
At  first  it  is  supposed  that  the  Spirits  actually  eat  the  food 
offered  to  them.  Soon,  however,  it  would  be  observed 
that  animals  sacrificed  did  not  disappear  ; and  the  natural 
explanation  would  be  that  the  Spirit  ate  the  spiritual  part 
of  the  victim,  leaving  the  grosser  portion  to  his  devout 
worshipper.  Thus  the  Limboos  near  Darjeeling  eat  their 
sacrifices,  dedicating,  as  they  forcibly  express  it,  ‘ the  life- 
breath,  to  the  gods,  the  flesh  to  ourselves.52 

So  also,  as  Sir  G.  Grey  tells  us,  the  New  Zealand  fairies, 
when  Te  Kanawa  gave  them  his  jewels,  carried  off  the 
shadows  only,  not  caring  for  the  earthly  substance.3  In 
Guinea,  according  to  Bosman,  ‘the  idol  hath  only  the 

blood,  because  they  like  the  flesh  very  well  themselves.54 

• 

1 Psalm  1.  4 Bosman.  Pinkerton’s  Voyages, 

2 Campbell,  in  Trans.  Etkn.  Soc.,  vol.xvi.  p.  531.  Astley’s  Collection  of 

N.S.,  yoI.  vii.  p.  153.  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  97. 

3 Polynesian  Mythology,  p.  294. 


238 


SACRIFICES. 


Iii  other  cases  the  idols  were  smeared  with  the  blood,  while 
the  devotees  feasted  on  the  flesh.  The  Ostyaks  when  they 
kill  an  animal  rub  some  of  the  blood  on  the  mouths  of  their 
idols.  Even  this  seems  at  length  to  be  replaced  in  some 
cases,  as  Mr.  Tylor  has  suggested,  by  red  paint.  Thus  the 
sacred  stones  in  India,  as  Colonel  Eorbes  Leslie  has  shown, 
are  frequently  ornamented  with  red.1  So  also  in  Congo  it 
is  customary  to  daub  the  fetiches  with  red  every  new 
moon.2  Atkinson3  thus  describes  a Kirghiz  sacrifice  : — ‘ A 
ram  was  led  up  by  the  owner,  who  wished  for  a large 
increase  of  his  flocks  and  herds.  It  was  handed  to  an 
assistant  of  the  priest,  who  killed  it  in  the  usual  manner. 
His  superior  stood  near,  looking  towards  the  east,  and 
began  chanting  a prayer,  and  beating  on  his  large  tam- 
bourine to  rouse  up  his  god,  and  then  made  his  request 
for  multitudes  of  sheep  and  cattle.  The  ram  was  being 
flayed ; and  when  the  operation  was  completed,  the  skin 
was  put  on  a pole  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch, 
raised  above  the  framework,  and  placed  with  its  head 
towards  the  east.  The  tambourine  thundered  forth  its 
sound,  and  the  performer  continued  his  wild  chant.  The 
flesh  was  cooked  in  the  large  cauldron,  and  the  tribe  held 
a great  festival.’ 

Of  the  great  offerings  of  food  among  the  Eijians,  says 
Williams,4  ‘ native  belief  apportions  merely  the  soul 
thereof  to  the  gods,  who  are  described  as  being  enormous 
eaters  ; the  substance  is  consumed  by  the  worshippers.’ 

Ellis5  mentions  an  indication  of  this  in  Tahiti,  when 
human  sacrifices  prevailed  but  cannibalism  was  abandoned. 
The  priest  handed  a portion  of  the  victim  to  the  king, 

1 See,  for  instance,  Early  Races  of  4 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  231. 

Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  464.  See  also  p.  223. 

2 See  anth , p.  208.  5 Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p. 

* Siberia,  p.  383.  214. 


CONFUSION  OF  THE  VICTIM  WITH  THE  DEITY.  239 

c who  raised  it  to  his  mouth  as  if  desirous  to  eat  it/  but 
then  handed  it  to  an  attendant. 

In  many  cases,  indeed,  it  seems  to  be  a necessary  portion 
of  the  ceremony  that  the  victim  should  be  eaten  by  those 
present.  Thus,  in  India,1  when  the  sacrifice  is  over,  the 
priest  comes  out,  and  distributes  part  of  the  articles  which 
had  been  offered  to  the  idols.  This  is  received  as  holy, 
and  is  eaten  immediately.5 

Among  the  Redskins,2  at  the  feast  held  when  the  hunting 
season  begins,  the  victim  ‘ must  be  all  eaten  and  nothing 
left.5  It  is  remarkable  that  among  the  Algonkins,  another 
rule  at  the  same  feast  is  that  not  a bone  of  the  victim 
must  be  broken.3 

In  many  cases  a curious  confusion  arises  between  the 
victim  and  the  Deity,  and  the  former  is  worshipped  before 
it  is  sacrificed  and  eaten.  Thus  in  ancient  Egypt,  Apis 
the  victim  was  also  regarded  as  the  God,4  and  Iphigenia 
was  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  same  as  Artemis.5 

In  Mexico6  at  a certain  period  of  the  year  the  priest  of 
Quetzalcoatl  made  an  image  of  the  Deity  of  meal  mixed 
with  infants5  blood,  and  then,  after  many  impressive  cere- 
monies, killed  the  image  by  shooting  it  with  an  arrow,  and 
tore  out  the  heart,  which  was  eaten  by  the  king,  while  the 
rest  of  the  body  was  distributed  among  the  people,  every 
one  of  whom  was  most  anxious  to  procure  a piece  to  eat, 
however  small.7 


1 Dubois,  The  people  of  India,  p. 

401. 

2 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol. 
:ii.  p.  61.  Tanner’s  Narrative,  p. 
?87. 

s Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  195. 

4 Cox’s  Manual  of  Mythology,  p. 
213. 

6 Ibid.,  p.  158. 

6 See  Muller,  Ges.  d.  Amer.  Urr. 
p.  605. 


‘ 7 Die  Priester  verfertigen  namlich 
sein  Bild  von  allerlei  Samen,  die  mit 
dem  Blute  geopferter  Kinder  zusam- 
mengebacken  wurden.  Mancherlei 
religiose  Keinigungen  und  Siihnungen, 
Waschungen  mit  Wasser,  Aderlassen, 
Fasten,  Prozessionen,  Kaucherungen, 
Wachtelopfer,  Menschenopfer  bereite- 
ten  zur  Feier  vor.  Alsdann  schoss  ein 
Priester  Quetzalcoatls  einen  Pfeil 
gegen  jenes  Bild  Huitzilopochtlis,  und 


240 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES. 


The  great  yearly  sacrifice  in  honour  of  Tezcatlipoca  was 
also  very  remarkable.  Some  beautiful  youth,  usually  a 
war  captive,  was  chosen  as  the  victim.  For  a whole  year 
he  was  treated  and  worshipped  as  a god.  When  he  went 
out  he  was  attended  by  a numerous  train  of  pages,  and 
the  crowd  as  he  passed  prostrated  themselves  before  him, 
and  did  him  homage  as  the  impersonation  of  the  good 
Deity.  Everything  he  could  wish  was  provided  for  him,  and 
at  the  commencement  of  the  last  month,  four  beautiful  girls 
were  allotted  to  him  as  wives.  Finally,  when  the  fatal  day 
arrived,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a solemn  procession, 
taken  to  the  temple,  and  after  being  sacrificed  with  much 
ceremony  and  every  token  of  respect,  he  was  eaten  by 
the  priests  and  chiefs. 

Again,  among  the  Klionds2  of  Central  India  human 
sacrifices  prevailed  until  quite  lately.  c A stout  stake  is 
driven  into  the  soil,  and  to  it  the  victim  is  fastened,  seated, 
and  anointed  with  ghee,  oil,  and  turmeric,  decorated  with 
flowers,  and  worshipped  during  the  day  by  the  assembly. 
At  nightfall  the  licentious  revelry  is  resumed,  and  on  the 
third  morning  the  victim  gets  some  milk  to  drink,  when 
the  presiding  priest  implores  the  goddess  to  shower  her 
blessings  on  the  people,  that  they  may  increase  and  multi- 
ply, prosperity  attend  their  cattle  and  poultry,  fertility 
their  fields,  and  happiness  to  the  people  generally.  The 
priest  recounts  the  origin  and  advantage  of  the  rite,  as 
previously  detailed,  and  concludes  by  stating  that  the 
goddess  has  been  obeyed  and  the  people  assembled. 
«•••*.. 

clurclischoss  den  Gott.  So  gait  dieser  Quartiere  der  Stadt  so,  dass  jeder 
nun  fur  todt,  es  wurde  ihm  wie  den  Mann  ein  Stiickchen  erhielt/ 
Menschenopfern  vOm  Priester  das  1 Miiller,  loc.  cit.  p.  617.  Prescott, 
ITerz  ausgesclinitten,  und  vom  Konige,  loc.  cit.  vol.  l.  p.  5. 
deni  Stellvertreter  des  Gottes  auf  2 Dr.  Shortt,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,N.S., 
Erden,  gegessen.  Den  Leib  aber  vol.  vi.  p.  273. 
vertheilten  sie  fur  die  verschiedenen 


EATING  THE  FETICH. 


241 


‘ Other  softening  expressions  are  recited  to  excite  the 
compassion  of  the  multitude.  After  the  mock  ceremony, 
nevertheless,  the  victim  is  taken  to  the  grove  where  the 
sacrifice  is  to  be  carried  out ; and,  to  prevent  resistance, 
the  bones  of  the  arms  and  legs  are  broken,  or  the  victim 
drugged  with  opium  or  datura,  when  the  janni  wounds  his 
victim  with  his  axe.  This  act  is  followed  up  by  the  crowd  ; 
a number  now  press  forward  to  obtain  a piece  of  his 
flesh,  and  in  a moment  he  is  stripped  to  the  bones/ 

So  also  in  some  parts  of  Africa  e eating  the  fetich  ’ is  a 
solemn  ceremony,  by  which  women  swear  fidelity  to  their 
husbands,  men  to  their  friends.  On  a marriage  in  Issini, 
the  parties  c eat  the  fetish  together,  in  token  of  friendship, 
and  as  an  assurance  of  the  woman’s  fidelity  toher  husband.’1 
In  taking  an  oath  also  the  same  ceremony  is  observed.  To 
know,  says  Loyer,  c the  truth  from  any  negro,  you  need  only 
mix  something  in  a little  water,  and  steeping  a bit  of  bread, 
bid  him  eat  or  drink  that  fetish  as  a sign  of  the  truth.  If 
the  thing  be  so,  he  will  do  it  freely ; but  if  otherwise,  he 
will  not  touch  it,  believing  he  should  die  on  the  spot  if  he 
swore  falsely.  Their  way  is  to  rasp  or  grate  a little  of 
their  fetish  in  water,  or  on  any  edible,  and  so  put  it  in 
their  mouth  without  swallowing  it.’ 

The  sacrifices,  however,  were  as  a general  rule  not  eaten 
by  all  indiscriminately.  In  Eeejee  they  were  confined  to 
the  old  men  and  priests;  women  and  young  men  being 
excluded  from  any  share. 

Gradually  the  priests  established  their  claim  to  the 
whole,  a result  which  could  not  fail  to  act  as  a consider- 
able stimulus  to  the  practice  of  sacrifice.  It  also  affected 
the  character  of  the  worship.  Thus,  as  Bosnian  tells  us, 


1 Loyer,  in  Astley’s  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol,  ii.  pp.  436,  441, 


242 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES. 


the  priests  encouraged  offerings  to  the  Serpent  rather  than 
to  the  Sea,  because,  in  the  latter  case,  as  he  expresses  it, 

6 there  happens  no  remainder  to  be  left  for  them.5 

As  already  mentioned,  the  feeling  which  has  led  to  the 
sacrifice  of  animals  would  naturally  culminate  in  that  of 
men.  So  natural,  indeed,  does  the  idea  of  human  sacrifice 
appear  to  the  human  mind  in  this  stage,  that  we  meet  it  in 
various  nations  all  over  the  world. 

Human  sacrifices  occurred  in  Guinea,1  and  Burton 2 saw 
c at  Benin  city  a young  woman  lashed  to  a scaffolding 
upon  the  summit  of  a tall  blasted  tree,  and  being  devoured 
by  the  turkey  buzzards.  The  people  declared  it  to  be  a 
“ fetish 55  or  charm  for  bringing  rain.5 

Our  early  navigators  describe  them  as  taking  place 
occasionally  in  the  Pacific  Islands.  War  captives  were 
frequently  sacrificed  in  Brazil. 

Various  nations  in  India,  besides  the  Khonds  who  have 
been  already  mentioned,  used  to  offer  up  human  sacrifices 
on  extraordinary  occasions  ; and  even  now  in  some  places, 
though  the  actual  sacrifice  is  no  longer  permitted,  they 
make  human  figures  of  flour,  paste,  or  clay,  and  then  cut  off 
the  heads  in  honour  of  their  gods.3 

Many  cases  of  human  sacrifice  are  mentioned  in  ancient 
history.  The  Carthaginians  after  their  defeat  of  Agathocles 
burnt  some  of  their  captives  as  a sacrifice ; the  Assyrians 
offered  human  sacrifices  to  the  god  Nergal.  Many  cases 
are  on  record  in  Greek  history,  and  among  the  Romans 
even  down  to  the  time  of  the  emperors.  In  Rome  a statue 
of  Jupiter  was  sprinkled  every  year  with  human  blood,  down 
to  the  second  or  third  century  after  Christ,  and  in  Northern 
Europe  human  sacrifices  continued  to  a much  later  period. 
In  Mexico  and  Peru  they  seem  to  have  been  peculiarly 

1 Astley  s Collection  of  Voyages,  vol. 
iii.  p.  113. 


2 Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  19. 
8 Dubois,  loc.  cit . p.  490. 


TEMPLES. 


243 


numerous.  Muller 1 has  suggested  that  this  may  have 
partly  arisen  from  the  fact  that  these  races  were  not 
softened  by  the  possession  of  domestic  animals.  Various 
estimates  have  been  made  of  the  number  of  human  victims 
annually  sacrificed  in  the  Mexican  temples.  Muller  thinks 
2,500  is  a moderate  estimate  ; but  in  one  year  it  appears 
to  have  exceeded  100,000. 

Among  the  Jews  we  find  a system  of  animal  sacrifices 
on  a great  scale,  and  symbols  of  human  sacrifices,  which 
can,  I think,  only  be  understood  on  the  hypothesis  that 
they  were  once  usual.  The  case  of  J ephtha’s  daughter 
is  generally  looked  upon  as  quite  exceptional,  but  the 
twenty-eighth  and  twenty-ninth  verses  of  the  twenty- 
seventh  chapter  of  Leviticus  appear  to  indicate  that  hu- 
man sacrifices  were  at  one  time  habitual  among  the  Jews.2 

The  lower  savages  have  no  Temples  or  sacred  buildings. 
Throughout  the  New  World  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
a temple,  excepting  among  the  semi-civilised  races  of 
Central  America  and  Peru. 

The  Stiens  of  Cambodia  ‘ have  neither  priest  nor 
temples.’3  We  should  seek  in  vain,  says  Casalis,4  ‘from  the 
extremity  of  the  southern  promontory  of  Africa  to  the 
country  far  beyond  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi,  for  anything 
like  the  pagodas  of  India,  the  maraes  of  Polynesia,  or  the 
fetish  huts  of  Nigritia.’  The  people  of  Madagascar,  as  we 
are  informed  by  Drury,5  who  resided  fifteen  years  among 
them,  although  they  have  settled  abodes,  keep  large  herds 
of  cattle,  and  are  diligent  agriculturists,  ‘ have  no  temples, 
no  tabernacles,  or  groves  for  the  public  performance  of 
their  divine  worship ; neither  have  they  solemn  fasts,  or 

1 Geschichte  der  Americanishen  3 Mouhot’s  Travels  in  the  Central 

Urreligionem,  p.  23.  Parts  of  Indo-China,  vol.  i.  p.  250. 

2 But  see  Kalisch,  Commentary  on  4 The  Basutos,  p.  237. 

the  Old  Testament,  Lev.  Pt.  I.  p.  409.  5 Adventures  of  Robert  Drury,  p.  x. 


244 


PRIESTS. 


festivals,  or  set  days  or  times,  nor  priests  to  do  it  for 
them/ 

Professor  Nillson  was,  I believe,  the  first  to  point  ont  that 
certain  races  buried  the  dead  in  their  houses,  and  that  the 
chambered  tumuli  of  Northern  Europe  are  probably  copies 
of  the  dwellings  then  used,  sometimes  perhaps  the  actual 
dwellings  themselves.  We  know  that  as  the  power  of 
chiefs  increased,  their  tombs  became  larger  and  more 
magnificent,  and  Mr.  Eergusson  has  well  shown  how  in 
India  the  tumulus  has  developed  into  the  temple. 

In  some  cases,  as  for  instance  in  India,  it  is  far  from 
easy  to  distinguish  between  a group  of  stone  gods  and  a 
sacred  fane.  In  fact,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  very  same 
stones  are  by  some  supposed  to  be  actual  deities,  while 
others  more  advanced  regard  them  as  sacred  only  because 
devoted  to  religious  purposes.  Some  of  the  ruder  Hindostan 
tribes  actually  worship  upright  stones ; but  Colonel  Eorbes 
Leslie  regards  the  sacred  stones  represented  in  PL  IV. 
as  a place  of  worship,  rather  than  as  actual  deities ; and 
this  is  at  any  rate  the  case  with  another  group  (Frontis- 
piece) similarly  painted,  which  he  observed  near  Andlee, 
also  in  the  Dekhan,  and  which  is  peculiarly  interesting  from 
its  resemblance  to  the  stone  circles  of  our  own  country. 

Pig.  18,  p.  156,  represents,  after  Lafitau,1  a religious 
dance  as  practised  by  the  Bedskins  of  Virginia.  Here,  also, 
as  already  mentioned,  we  see  a sacred  circle  of  stones, 
differing  from  those  of  our  own  country  and  of  India  only 
in  having  a human  head  rudely  carved  on  each  stone. 

The  lower  races  of  men  have  no  Priests  properly  so  called. 
Many  passages,  indeed,  may  be  quoted  which,  at  first  sight, 
appear  to  negative  this  assertion.  If,  however,  we  examine 
more  closely  the  true  functions  of  these  so-called  ‘ priests/ 
we  shall  easily  satisfy  ourselves  that  the  term  is  a misno- 

1 Mceurs  des  Sauv.  Amer.,  vol.  ii.  p.  136. 


THE  SOUL. 


245 


mer,  and  that  wizards  only  are  intended.  Without  temples 
and  sacrifices  there  cannot  he  priests. 

Even  the  New  Zealanders1  had  ‘ no  regular  priesthood.’ 
Mr.  Gladstone2  observes  that  the  priest  was  not,  ‘as  such 
a significant  personage  in  Greece  at  any  period,  nor  had 
the  priest  of  any  one  place  or  deity,  so  far  as  we  know, 
any  organic  connection  with  the  priest  of  any  other ; so 
that  if  there  were  priests,  yet  there  was  not  a priesthood.’ 

I have  already  pointed  out  (. ante , p.  138)  the  great  differ- 
ence between  the  belief  in  ghosts  and  in  the  existence 
of  a soul.  Even,  however,  those  races  which  have  so  far 
advanced  as  to  believe  in  the  latter,  yet  differ  from  us  very 
much  in  their  views ; and  in  fact  the  belief  in  an  universal, 
independent,  and  endless  existence  is  confined  to  the  very 
highest  races  of  men.  The  New  Zealanders  believe  that 
a man  who  is  eaten  as  well  as  killed,  is  thus  destroyed 
both  soul  and  body.3  Even,  however,  those  who  have 
proper  interment  are  far  from  secure  of  reaching  the 
happier  regions  in  the  land  of  spirits.*  The  road  to  them 
is  long  and  dangerous,  and  many  a soul  perishes  by  the 
way.  In  the  Tonga  Islands  the  chiefs  are  regarded  as 
immortal,  the  Tooas  or  common  people  as  mortal ; with 
reference  to  the  intermediate  class  or  Mooas  there  is  a 
difference  of  opinion. 

A friend  of  Mr.  Lang’s  4 ‘ tried  long  and  patiently  to 
make  a very  intelligent  docile  Australian  black  understand 
his  existence  without  a body,  but  the  black  never  could 
keep  his  countenance  and  generally  made  an  excuse  to  get 
away.  One  day  the  teacher  watched  and  found  that  he 
went  to  have  a hearty  fit  of  laughter  at  the  absurdity  of 
the  idea  of  a man  living  and  going  about  without  arms, 
legs,  or  mouth  to  eat ; for  a long  time  he  could  not  believe 

1 Yate,  p.  146.  2 Juventus  Mundi,  p.  181. 

3 Taylor,  New  Zealand  and  its  Inhabitants,  p.  101. 

4 The  Aborigines  of  Australia,  p.  31. 


246 


SOULS  OF  INANIMATE  OBJECTS. 


that  the  gentleman  was  serious,  and  when  he  did  realise 
it,  the  more  serious  the  teacher  was  the  more  ludicrous  the 
whole  affair  appeared  to  the  black.5 

The  resurrection  of  the  body  as  preached  by  the  mission- 
aries,1 * appeared  to  the  Tahitians  ‘ astounding  5 and  ‘ in- 
credible ;5  and  ‘ as  the  subject  was  more  frequently  brought 
under  their  notice  in  public  discourse,  or  in  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and  their  minds  were  more  attentively  exercised 
upon  it  in  connection  with  their  ancestry,  themselves,  and 
their  descendants,  it  appeared  invested  with  more  than 
ordinary  difficulty,  bordering,  to  their  apprehension,  on 
impossibility.5 

Although  the  Feejeeans  believe  that  almost  everything 
has  a spirit,  few  spirits  are  immortal : the  road  to  Mbulu 
is  long,  and  beset  with  so  many  difficulties,  that  after  all 
‘ few  attain  to  immortality.52  As  regards  Central  India, 
Colonel  Dalton  says,3  ‘I  do  not  think  that  the  present 
generation  of  Kols  have  any  notion  of  a heaven  or  a hell 
that  may  not  be  traced  to  Brahminical  or  Christian  teach- 
ing. The  old  idea  is  that  the  souls  of  the  dead  become 
“ bhoots,55  spirits,  but  no  thought  of  reward  or  punish- 
ment is  connected  with  the  change.  When  a Ho  swears, 
the  oath  has  no  reference  whatever  to  a future  state.  He 
prays  that  if  he  speak  not  the  truth  he  may  be  afflicted  in 
this  world  with  the  loss  of  all — health,  wealth,  wife, 
children ; that  he  may  sow  without  reaping,  and  finally 
may  be  devoured  by  a tiger ; but  he  swears  not  by  any 
happiness  beyond  the  grave.  He  has  in  his  primitive 
state  no  such  hope  ; and  I believe  that  most  Indian 
aborigines,  though  they  may  have  some  vague  ideas  of 
continuous  existence,  will  be  found  equally  devoid  of 
original  notions  in  regard  to  the  judgment  to  come.5 

1 Ellis’  Polynesian  Researches,  yoI.  2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  24  7. 

ii  p.  165.  3 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1867,  p.  38. 


IDEAS  OF  HEAVEN. 


247 


Even  when  the  spirit  is  supposed  to  survive  the  body, 
the  condition  of  souls  after  death  is  not  at  first  con- 
sidered to  differ  materially  from  that  during*  life.  Heaven 
is  merely  a distant  part  of  earth.  Thus  the  ‘ seats  of 
happiness  are  represented  by  some  Hindu  writers  to  be 
vast  mountains  on  the  north  of  India.5 1 Again,  in  Tonga 
the  souls  are  supposed  to  go  to  Bolotoo,  a large  island  to 
the  north-west,  well  stocked  2 with  all  kinds  of  useful  and 
ornamental  plants,  ‘ always  bearing  the  richest  fruits  and 
the  most  beautiful  flowers  according  to  their  respective  na- 
tures; that  when  these  fruits  or  flowers  are  plucked,  others 
immediately  occupy  their  place  . . . the  island  is  also  well 
stocked  with  the  most  beautiful  birds  of  all  imaginable 
kinds,  as  well  as  with  abundance  of  hogs,  all  of  which  are 
immortal,  unless  they  are  killed  to  provide  food  for  the 
hotooas  or  gods,  but  the  moment  a hog  or  bird  is  killed, 
another  hog  or  bird  immediately  comes  into  existence  to 
supply  its  place,  the  same  as  with  the  fruits  and  flowers ; 
and  this,  as  far  as  they  know  or  suppose,  is  the  only  mode 
of  propagation  of  plants  and  animals.  The  island  of 
Bolotoo  is  supposed  to  be  so  far  off  as  to  render  it  danger- 
ous for  their  canoes  to  attempt  going  there ; and  it  is 
supposed,  moreover,  that  even  if  they  were  to  succeed  in 
reaching  so  far,  unless  it  happened  to  be  the  particular 
will  of  the  gods,  they  would  be  sure  to  miss  it.5 

They  believe,  however,  that  on  one  occasion  a canoe 
actually  reached  Bolotoo.  The  crew  landed,  but  when 
they  attempted  to  touch  anything,  ‘they  could  no  more 
lay  hold  of  it  than  if  it  had  been  a shadow.5  Consequently 
hunger  soon  overtook  them,  and  forced  them  to  return, 
which  they  fortunately  succeeded  in  doing. 

A curious  notion,  already  referred  to,  is  the  belief  that 
each  man  has  several  souls.  It  is  common  to  various 

1 Dubois,  loc.  cit.  p.  485.  2 Mariner,  loc.  cit.  yoI.  ii.  p.  108. 


248 


PLURALITY  OP  SOULS. 


parts  of  America,1  and  exists  also  in  Madagascar.  It 
apparently  arises  from  tlie  idea  that  each  pulse  is  the 
seat  of  a different  life.  It  also  derives  an  appearance  of 
probability  from  the  inconsistencies  of  behaviour  to  which 
savages  are  so  prone.  The  Feejeeans  also  believed  that 
each  man  has  two  spirits.2  Among  the  ancient  Greeks 
and  Romans  there  are  some  indications  of  the  existence 
of  a similar  belief.3 

The  belief  in  a future  state,  if  less  elevated  than  our 
own,  is  singularly  vivid  among  some  barbarous  races.  Thus 
Caesar  assures  us  that  among  the  ancient  Britons  money 
was  habitually  lent  on  what  may  strictly  be  termed 
‘ postobits  * — promises  to  pay  in  another  world. 

The  Feejeeans  believe  that  ‘ as  they  die,  such  will  be  their 
condition  in  another  world ; hence  their  desire  to  escape 
extreme  infirmity.5  4 The  way  to  Mbulu,  as  already  men- 
tioned, is  long  and  difficult;  many  always  perish,  and 
no  diseased  or  infirm  person  could  possibly  succeed  in  sur- 
mounting all  the  dangers  of  the  road.  Hence  as  soon  as 
a man  feels  the  approach  of  old  age,  he  notifies  to  his 
children  that  it  is  time  for  him  to  die.  If  he  neglects  to 
do  so,  the  children  after  a while  take  the  matter  into  their 
own  hands.  A family  consultation  is  held,  a day  appointed, 
and  the  grave  dug.  The  aged  person  has  his  choice  of 
being  strangled  or  buried  alive.  Mr.  Hunt  gives  the 
following  striking  description  of  such  a ceremony  once 
witnessed  by  him.  A young  man  came  to  him  and  in- 
vited him  to  attend  his  mother’s  funeral,  which  was  just 
going  to  take  place.  Mr.  Hunt  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  joined  the  procession,  but,  surprised  to  see  no  corpse, 

1 Tertre’s  History  of  the  Caribby  2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  241. 

Islands,  p.  288.  It  prevails  also  in  8 Lafitau,  vol.  ii.  p.  424. 

Greenland.  Muller,  Ges.  der  Am.  4 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  183. 

Urreligionem,  p.  66. 


THE  FUTURE  STATE.  • 


249 


he  made  enquiries,  when  the  young  man  pointed  out  his 
mother,  who  was  walking  along  with  them,  as  gay  and 
lively  as  any  of  those  present,  and  apparently  as  much 
pleased.  Mr.  Hunt  expressed  his  surprise  to  the  young 
man,  and  asked  how  he  could  deceive  him  so  much  by 
saying  his  mother  was  dead,  when  she  was  alive  and  well. 
He  said,  in  reply,  that  they  had  made  her  death-feast,  and 
were  now  going  to  bury  her ; that  she  was  old,  that  his 
brother  and  himself  had  thought  she  had  lived  long 
enough,  and  it  was  time  to  bury  her,  to  which  she  had 
willingly  assented,  and  they  were  about  it  now.  He  had 
come  to  Mr.  Hunt  to  ask  his  prayers,  as  they  did  those  of 
the  priest. 

‘ He  added,  that  it  was  from  love  for  his  mother  that  he 
had  done  so ; that,  in  consequence  of  the  same  love,  they 
were  now  going  to  bury  her,  and  that  none  but  themselves 
could  or  ought  to  do  such  a sacred  office  ! Mr.  Hunt  did 
all  in  his  power  to  prevent  so  diabolical  an  act ; but  the 
only  reply  he  received  was  that  she  was  their  mother,  and 
they  were  her  children,  and  they  ought  to  put  her  to  death. 
On  reaching  the  grave,  the  mother  sat  down,  when  they 
all,  including  children,  grandchildren,  relations  and  friends, 
took  an  affectionate  leave  of  her  ; a rope,  made  of  twisted 
tapa,  was  then  passed  twice  around  her  neck  by  her  sons, 
who  took  hold  of  it  and  strangled  her ; after  which  she 
was  put  in  her  grave,  with  the  usual  ceremonies/1 

So  general  was  this  custom  that  in  one  town  containing 
several  hundred  inhabitants  Captain  Wilkes  did  not  see 
one  man  over  forty  years  of  age,  all  the  old  people  having 
been  buried. 

In  Dahomey  the  king  sends  constant  messages  to  his 
deceased  father,  by  messengers  who  are  killed  for  the 

1 Wilkes’  Exploring  Expedition.  Condensed  edition,  p.  211. 


12 


250 


CREATION. 


purpose.  The  same  firm  belief  which  leads  to  this  reconciles 
the  messengers  to  their  fate.  They  are  well  treated  before- 
hand, and  their  death  being  instantaneous  is  attended 
with  little  pain.  Hence  we  are  assured  that  they  are  quite 
cheerful  and  contented,  and  scarcely  seem  to  look  on  their 
death  as  a misfortune. 

The  North  American  Indian,  as  Schoolcraft  tells  us,  has 
little  dread  of  death.  c He  does  not  fear  to  go  to  a land 
which,  all  his  life  long,  he  has  heard  abounds  in  rewards 
without  punishments.51 

We  know  that  the  Japanese  commit  suicide  for  the 
most  trifling  causes  ; and  it  is  said  that  in  China,  if  a rich 
man  is  condemned  to  death,  he  can  always  purchase  a 
willing  substitute  at  a very  small  expense. 

The  lower  races  have  no  idea  of  Creation,  and  even  among 
those  somewhat  more  advanced,  it  is  at  first  very  incom- 
plete. Their  deities  are  part  of,  not  the  makers  of,  the 
world  ; and  even  when  the  idea  of  creation  dawns  upon  the 
mind,  it  is  not  strictly  a creation,  but  merely  the  raising 
of  land  already  existing  at  the  bottom  of  the  original  sea. 

The  Abipones  had  no  theory  on  the  subject;  when 
questioned  by  Dobritzhoffer,2  c my  father,  replied  Yehoalay 
readily  and  frankly,  our  grandfathers,  and  great-grandfa- 
thers, were  wont  to  contemplate  the  earth  alone,  solicitous 
only  to  see  whether  the  plain  afforded  grass  and  water  for 
their  horses.  They  never  troubled  themselves  about  what 
went  on  in  the  heavens,  and  who  was  the  creator  and 
governor  of  the  stars.5 

Father  Baegert,3  in  his  account  of  the  Californian 
Indians,  says,  ‘ I often  asked  them  whether  they  had  never 
put  to  themselves  the  question  who  might  be  the  Creator 
and  Preserver  of  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  and  other  objects  of 

1 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol. 
li.  p.  68. 


2 Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  59. 

3 Loc.  cit.  p.  390. 


CREATION. 


251 


nature,  but  was  always  sent  home  with  a “vara,”  which 
means  “ no  ” in  their  language/ 

The  Chipewyans  1 thought  that  the  world  existed  at 
first  in  the  form  of  a globe  of  water,  out’  of  which  the 
Great  Spirit  raised  the  land.  The  Lenni  Lenape2  say 
that  Manitu  at  the  beginning  swam  on  the  water,  and 
made  the  earth  out  of  a grain  of  sand.  He  then  made  a 
man  and  woman  out  of  a tree.  The  Mingos  and  Ottawwaws 
believe  that  a rat  brought  up  a grain  of  sand  from  the 
bottom  of  the  water,  and  thus  produced  the  land.  The 
Crees3  had  no  ideas  at  all  as  to  the  origin  of  the  world. 

Stuhr,  who  was,  as  Muller  says,  a good  observer  of  such 
matters,  tells  us  that  the  Siberians  had  no  idea  of  a 
Creator.  When  Burchell  suggested  the  idea  of  Creation 
to  the  Bachapin  Kaffirs,  they  ‘ asserted  that  everything 
made  itself,  and  that  trees  and  herbage  grew  by  their 
own  will/ 4 It  also  appears  from  Canon  Callaway’s  re- 
searches that  the  Zulu  Kaffirs  have  no  notion  of  Creation. 
Casalis  makes  the  same  statement:  all  the  natives,  he 
says,  c whom  we  questioned  on  the  subject  have  assured  us 
that  it  never  entered  their  heads  that  the  earth  and  sky 
might  be  the  work  of  an  Invisible  Being/5  The  same  is 
also  the  case  with  the  Hottentots. 

The  Australians,  again,  had  no  idea  of  Creation.  Accord- 
ing to  Polynesian  mythology,  heaven  and  earth  existed  from 
the  beginning.6  The  latter,  however,  was  at  first  covered 
by  water,  until  Mawe  drew  up  New  Zealand  by  means  of  an 
enchanted  fish-hook.7  This  fish-hook  was  made  from  the 
jawbone  of  Muri-ranga-whenna,  and  is  now  the  cape 
forming  the  southern  extremity  of  Hawkes’  Bay.  The 

1 Dunn’s  Oregon,  p.  102.  4 Loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  550. 

2 Muller,  Gres.  d.  Amer.  Urr.,  p.  5 The  Basutos,  p.  238. 

107.  6 Polynesian  Mythology,  p.  1. 

3 Pranklin’s  Journey  to  the  Polar  7 Ibid.  p.  45. 

Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  143. 


252 


CREATION. 


Tongans1  have  a very  similar  tale.  Here  the  islands  were 
drawn  up  by  Tangaloa,  ‘ but  the  line  accidentally  breaking, 
the  act  was  incomplete,  and  matters  were  left  as  they  now 
are.  They  show  a hole  in  the  rock,  about  two  feet 
in  diameter,  which  quite  perforates  it,  and  in  which 
Tangoloa’s  hook  got  fixed.  It  is  moreover  said  that 
Tooitonga  had,  till  within  a few  years,  this  very  hook  in  his 
possession.5 

As  regards  Tahiti,  Williams2  observes  that  the  ‘ origin 
of  the  Gods,  and  their  priority  of  existence  in  comparison 
with  the  formation  of  the  earth,  being  a matter  of  uncer- 
tainty even  among  the  native  priests,  involves  the  whole 
in  the  greatest  obscurity.5  Even  in  Sanskrit  there  is  no 
word  for  creation,  nor  does  any  such  idea  appear  in  the 
Eigveda,  in  the  Zendavesta,  or  in  Homer. 

When  the  Capuchin  missionary  Merolla3  asked  the 
queen  of  Singa,  in  Western  Africa,  who  made  the  world,  she 
‘ without  the  least  hesitation,  readily  answered,  “ My  ances- 
tors.55 “ Then,55  replied  the  Capuchin,  “ does  your  majesty 
enjoy  the  whole  power  of  your  ancestors?55  “ Yes,55  an- 
swered she,  “ and  much  more,  for  over  and  above  what  they 
had,  I am  absolute  mistress  of  the  kingdom  of  Matamba  ! 55 
A remark  which  shows  how  little  she  realised  the  meaning 
of  the  term  “ Creation.55  5 The  negroes  in  Guinea  thought 
that  man  was  created  by  a great  black  spider.4  Other 
negroes,  however,  have  more  just  ideas  on  the  subject, 
probably  derived  from  the  missionaries. 

The  Kumis  of  Chittagong  believe  that  a certain  Deity 
made  the  world  and  the  trees  and  the  creeping  things,  and 
lastly  ‘ he  set  to  work  to  make  one  man  and  one  woman, 
forming  their  bodies  of  clay  ; but  each  night,  on  the  com- 

1 Mariner,  loc.  cit . vol.  i.  p.  284.  3 Pinkerton’s  Voyages,  vol.  xvi.  p, 

2 Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  305. 

p.  191.  4 Loc.  cit.  p.  469. 


PRAYER. 


253 


pletion  of  his  work,  there  came  a great  snake,  which,  while 
God  was  sleeping,  devoured  the  two  images/1  At  length 
the  Deity  created  a dog,  which  drove  away  the  snake,  and 
thus  the  creation  of  man  was  accomplished. 

We  cannot  fail  also  to  be  struck  with  the  fact  that  the 
lower  forms  of  religion  are  almost  independent  of  prayer. 
To  us  prayer  seems  almost  a necessary  part  of  religion. 
But  it  evidently  involves  a belief  in  the  goodness  of  God, 
a truth  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  not  early  recognised. 

Of  the  Hottentots  Eolben  says,  ‘ It  is  most  certain  they 
neither  pray  to  any  one  of  their  deities  nor  utter  a word 
to  any  mortal  concerning  the  condition  of  their  souls  or  a 
future  life.  ...  Preparation  for  death,  in  a spiritual  sense, 
is  a thing  they  never  appeared  to  me  to  have  any  notion  of/2 
And  again  : 6 It  does  not  appear  that  they  have  any  insti- 
tution of  worship  directly  regarding  the  supreme  God.  I 
never  saw,  nor  could  I hear,  that  any  one  of  them  paid  any 
act  of  devotion  immediately  to  him/3  Even  those  negroes, 
says  Bosman,  who  have  a faint  conception  of  a higher 
Deity  c do  not  pray  to  him,  or  offer  any  sacrifices  to  him ; 
for  which  they  give  the  following  reasons  : “ God,”  say  they, 
“is  too  high  exalted  above  us,  and  too  great  to  condescend 
so  much  as  to  trouble  himself,  or  think  of  mankind.”  ?4 

The  Mandingoes,  according  to  Park,  regard  the  Deity 
as  6 so  remote,  and  of  so  exalted  a nature,  that  it  is  idle  to 
imagine  the  feeble  supplications  of  wretched  mortals  can 
reverse  the  decrees,  and  change  the  purposes,  of  unerring 
Wisdom/5  They  seem,  however,  to  have  little  confidence 
in  their  own  views,  and  generally  assured  Park,  in  answer 
to  his  enquiries  about  religion  and  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  that  c no  man  knows  anything  about  it/  6 Neither 

1 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong,  3 Loc.  cit.  p.  95. 

p.  90.  4 Hosman,  loc.  cit . p.  493. 

2 Loc . cit . p.  315.  5 Park’s  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  267. 


254 


MORALITY. 


among  the  Eskimos  nor  Tinne,*  says  Richardson,  6 could  I 
ascertain  that  prayer  was  ever  made  to  the  “ Kitche  Manito  ,** 
the  Great  Spirit  or  “ Master  of  Life.”* 1 Mr.  Prescott,  in 
Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  also  states  that  the  North 
American  Indians  do  not  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit.2  The 
Caribs  considered  that  the  Good  Spirit  c is  endued  with  so 
great  goodness,  that  it  does  not  take  any  revenge  even  of 
its  enemies  : whence  it  comes  that  they  render  it  neither 
honour  nor  adoration.*3 

According  to  Metz,  the  Todas  (Neilgherry  Hills)  never 
pray.  Even  among  the  priests,  he  says,  ‘ the  only  sign  of 
adoration  that  I have  ever  seen  them  perform  is  lifting  the 
right  hand  to  the  forehead,  covering  the  nose  with  the 
thumb,  when  entering  the  sacred  dairy : and  the  words, 
“ May  all  be  well,**  are  all  that  I have  ever  heard  them  utter 
in  the  form  of  a prayer.’4 

The  connection  between  morality  and  religion  will  be 
considered  in  a later  chapter.  Here,  I will  only  observe 
that  the  deities  of  the  lower  races  being  subject  to  the  same 
passions  as  man,  and  in  many  cases,  indeed,  themselves 
monsters  of  iniquity,  regarded  crime  with  indifference,  so 
long  as  the  religious  ceremonies  and  sacrifices  in  their 
honour  were  not  neglected.  Hence  it  follows  that  through 
all  these  lower  races  there  is  no  idea  of  any  being  corre- 
sponding to  Satan.  So  far,  indeed,  as  their,  deities  are  evil 
they  may  be  so  called;  but  the  essential  character  of 
Satan  is  that  of  the  Tempter ; hence  in  the  order  of  suc- 
cession. this  idea  cannot  arise  until  morality  has  become 
connected  with  religion. 

Thus,  then,  I have  endeavoured  to  trace  the  gradual 
development  of  religion  among  the  lower  races  of  man. 

1 Richardson’s  Boat  Journey,  vol.  ii.  3 Tertre’s  History  of  the  Caribby 

p.  44.  Islands,  p.  278. 

2 Prescott.  Schoolcraft’s  Indian  4 Tribes  of  the  Neilgherries,  p.  27. 
Tribes,  vol.  iii.  p.  226. 


<m  TIIE  NATURE  OF  IDOLS. 


255 


The  lower  savages  regard  their  deities  as  scarcely  more 
powerful  than  themselves ; they  are  evil,  not  good ; they 
are  to  be  propitiated  by  sacrifices,  not  by  prayer ; they  are 
not  creators ; they  are  neither  omniscient  nor  all-powerful ; 
they  neither  reward  the  good  nor  punish  the  evil ; far  from 
conferring  immortality  on  man,  they  are  not  even  in  all 
cases  immortal  themselves. 

Where  the  material  elements  of  civilisation  developed 
themselves  without  any  corresponding  increase  of  know- 
ledge, as  for  instance  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  a more  correct 
idea  of  Divine  power,  without  any  corresponding  enlight- 
enment as  to  the  Divine  nature,  led  to  a religion  of  terror, 
which  finally  became  a terrible  scourge  of  humanity. 

Gradually,  however,  an  increased  acquaintance  with  the 
laws  of  nature  enlarged  the  mind  of  man.  He  first  sup- 
posed that  the  deity  fashioned  the  earth,  raising  it  out  of 
the  water,  and  preparing  it  as  a dwelling-place  for  man ; 
and  subsequently  realised  the  idea  that  land  and  water 
were  alike  created  by  Divine  power.  After  regarding 
spirits  as  altogether  evil,  he  rose  to  a belief  in  good  as  well 
as  in  evil  deities,  and  gradually  subordinating  the  latter  to 
the  former,  worshipped  the  good  spirits  alone  as  gods,  the 
evil  sinking  to  the  level  of  demons.  Prom  believing  only 
in  ghosts,  he  came  gradually  to  the  recognition  of  the  soul : 
at  length  uniting  this  belief  with  that  in  a beneficent  and 
just  Being,  he  connected  Morality  with  Religion,  a step 
the  importance  of  which  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  over-esti- 
mate. 

Thus  we  see  that  as  men  rise  in  civilisation  their  religion 
rises  with  them.  The  Australians  dimly  imagine  a being, 
spiteful,  malevolent,  but  weak,  and  dangerous  only  in  the 
dark.  The  Negro’s  deity  is  more  powerful,  but  not  less 
hateful.  Invisible,  indeed,  but  subject  to  pain,  mortal  like 
himself,  and  liable  to  be  made  the  slave  of  man  by  enchant- 
ment. The  deities  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders  are  some 
good,  some  evil ; but  on  the  whole,  more  is  to  be  feared 


256 


SCIENCE  AND  EELIGION. 


from  the  latter  than  to  he  hoped  from  the  former.  They 
fashioned  the  land,  but  are  not  truly  creators,  for  earth  and 
water  existed  before  them.  They  do  not  punish  the  evil, 
nor  reward  the  good.  They  watch  over  the  affairs  of  men ; 
but  if,  on  the  one  hand,  witchcraft  has  no  power  over 
them,  neither,  on  the  other,  can  prayer  influence  them, — 
they  require  to  share  the  crops  or  the  booty  of  their  wor- 
shippers. 

It  appears,  then,  that  every  increase  in  science — that  is, 
in  positive  and  ascertained  knowledge — brings  with  it  an 
elevation  of  religion.  Nor  is  this  progress  confined  to  the 
lower  races.  Even  within  the  last  century,  science  has 
purified  the  religion  of  Western  Europe  by  rooting  out  the 
dark  belief  in  witchcraft,  which  led  to  thousands  of  execu- 
tions, and  hung  like  a black  pall  over  the  Christianity  of 
the  middle  ages. 

The  immense  service  which  Science  has  thus  rendered  to 
the  cause  of  Religion  and  of  Humanity,  has  not  hitherto 
received  the  recognition  which  it  deserves.  Science  is  still 
regarded  by  many  excellent,  but  narrow-minded,  persons 
as  hostile  to  religious  truth,  while  in  fact  she  is  only  op- 
posed to  religious  error.  No  doubt  her  influence  has  al- 
ways been  exercised  in  opposition  to  those  who  present 
contradictory  assertions  under  the  excuse  of  mystery,  and 
to  all  but  the  highest  conceptions  of  Divine  power.  The 
time,  however,  is  approaching  when  it  will  be  generally 
perceived  that  so  far  from  Science  being  opposed  to  Reli- 
gion, true  religion  is,  without  Science,  impossible ; and  if 
we  consider  the  various  aspects  of  Christianity  as  under- 
stood by  different  nations,  we  can  hardly  fail  to  perceive 
that  the  dignity,  and  therefore  the  truth,  of  their  religious 
beliefs  is  in  direct  relation  to  their  knowledge  of  Science 
and  of  the  great  physical  laws  by  which  our  universe  is 
governed. 


) 


CHAPTER  YIT. 


CHARACTER  A HD  MORALS, 


IHE  accounts  which  we  possess  of  the  character  of  savage 


races  are  both  conflicting  and  unsatisfactory.  In  some 
cases  travellers  have  expressed  strong  opinions  for  which 
they  had  obviously  no  sufficient  foundation.  Thus  the  unfor- 
tunate La  Perouse,  who  spent  only  one  day  on  Easter  Island, 
states  his  belief  that  the  inhabitants  c are  as  corrupt  as  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed  will  permit  them 
to  be.5 1 On  the  other  hand,  the  Friendly  Islanders  were 
so  called  by  Captain  Cook  on  account  of  the  apparent 
kindness  and  hospitality  with  which  they  received  him. 
Yet,  as  we  now  know,  this  appearance  of  friendship  was 
entirely  hypocritical.  The  natives  endeavoured  to  lull  him 
into  security,  with  the  intention  of  seizing  his  ship  and 
massacring  the  crew,  which  design  a fortunate  accident 
alone  prevented  them  from  carrying  into  effect ; yet  Captain 
Cook  never  had  the  slightest  suspicion  of  their  treachery, 
or  of  the  danger  which  he  so  narrowly  escaped. 

In  some  cases  the  same  writer  gives  accounts  at 
variance  with  one  another.  Thus  Mr.  Ellis,2  the  excellent 
missionary  of  the  Pacific,  speaking  of  the  Tahitians,  states 
that  their  moral  character  was  c awfully  dark,  and  not- 
withstanding the  apparent  mildness  of  their  disposition, 
and  the  cheerful  vivacity  of  their  conversation,  no  portion 


1 Perouse’s  Voyage,  English  edition,  vol.  ii.  p.  327. 

2 Polynesian  Researches,  vol,  ii.  p.  25. 


258 


CONTRADICTORY  ACCOUNTS. 


of  the  human  race  was  ever,  perhaps,  sunk  lower  in  brutal 
licentiousness  and  moral  degradation/  Yet,  speaking  of 
this  same  people,  and  in  the  very  same  volume,  he 
states  that  they  were  most  anxious  to  obtain  Bibles: 
on  the  day  when  they  were  to  be  distributed,  the  natives 
came  from  considerable  distances,  and  ‘the  place  was 
actually  thronged  until  the  copies  were  expended.  In 
their  application  at  our  own  houses,  we  found  it  impossible 
to  restrain  the  people,  so  great  was  their  anxiety/  Under 
these  circumstances  we  cannot  wonder  that  Captain  Cook 
and  other  navigators  found  in  them  much  to  admire  as 
well  as  to  condemn. 

The  Kalmouks,  again,  have  been  very  differently  described 
by  different  travellers.  Pallas,  speaking  of  their  character, 
says,  ‘ II  m’a  paru  infiniment  meilleur  que  ne  Font  depeint 
plusieurs  de  nos  historiens  voyageurs.  II  est  infiniment  pre- 
ferable a celui  des  autres  peuples  nomades.  Les  Kalmouks 
sont  affables,  hospitaliers  efc  francs ; ils  aiment  a rendre 
service  ; ils  sont  toujours  gais  et  enjoues,  ce  qui  les  distingue 
des  Kirguis,  qui  sont  beaucoup  plus  flegmatiques.  Telles 
sont  leurs  bonnes  qualites ; voici  les  mauvaises.  Ils  sont 
sales,  paresseux  et  fort  ruses  ; ils  abusent  tres-souvent  de  ce 
dernier  defaut/1  So  also  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  India, 
a 3 pointed  out  by  M.  Hunter,2  have  been  painted  in  the 
blackest  colours  by  some,  and  highly  praised  by  others. 

Mariner  gives  an  excellent  account  of  the  state  of  man- 
ners among  the  Tongans,  and  one  which  well  illustrates 
the  difficulty  of  arriving  at  correct  ideas  on  such  a subject, 
especially  among  a people  of  a different  race  from  ourselves 
and  in  a different  state  of  civilisation.  He  describes  them 
as  loyal3  and  pious,4  obedient  children,5  affectionate 

1 Voyages,  vol.  i.  p.  499.  3 Loc.  cit.  yol.  ii.  p.  155. 

2 Comparative  Dictionary  of  the  4 P.  154. 

Non- Aryan  Languages  of  India  and  5 P.  155. 

High  Asia,  pp.  5,  9. 


CONTRADICTORY  ACCOUNTS. 


259 


parents/  kind  husbands/  modest  and  faithful  wives/ 
and  true  friends.4 

On  the  other  hand,  they  seem  to  have  little  feeling  of 
morality.  They  have  no  words  for  justice  or  injustice,  for 
cruelty  or  humanity.5  * Theft,  revenge,  rape,  and  murder 
under  many  circumstances  are  not  held  to  be  crimes.’ 
They  have  no  idea  of  future  rewards  and  punishments. 
They  saw  no  harm  in  seizing  ships  by  treachery  and 
murdering  the  crew.  The  men  were  cruel,  treacherous, 
and  revengeful.  Marriages  were  terminable  at  the  whim 
of  the  husband,6  and  excepting  in  married  women  chastity 
was  not  regarded  as  a virtue,  though  it  was  thought  im- 
proper for  a woman  frequently  to  change  her  lover.  Yet 
we  are  told  that  on  the  whole,7  this  system,  although 
so  opposed  to  our  feelings,  had  ‘ not  the  least  appearance 
of  any  bad  effect.  The  women  were  tender  kind  mothers, 
the  children  well  cared  for.’  Both  sexes  appeared  to  be 
contented  and  happy  in  their  relations  to  each  other,  and 
‘as  to  domestic  quarrels  they  were  seldom  known.’  We 
must  not  judge  them  too  hardly  for  their  proposed  treachery 
to  Captain  Cook.  Even  in  Northern  Europe  shipwrecks 
were  long  considered  fair  spoil,  the  strangers  being  con- 
nected with  the  natives  by  no  civil  or  family  ties,  and  the 
idea  of  natural  right  not  being  highly  developed.8 

Lastly,  if  in  addition  to  the  other  sources  of  difficulty, 
we  remember  that  of  language,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the 
characters  of  savage  races  have  been  so  differently  de- 
scribed by  different  travellers.  We  all  know  how  difficult 
it  is  to  judge  an  individual,  and  it  must  be  much  more  so 
to  judge  a nation.  In  fact,  whether  any  given  writer 

1 P.  179.  6 P.  167. 

2 P.  179.  7 Loc.  cit . vol.  ii.  p.  177. 

8 P.  170.  8 See  Montesquieu,  Esprit  des 

4 P.  152.  Lois,  toI.  ii.  p.  119. 

a P.  148. 


260 


DIFFICULTY  OF  ASCERTAINING 


praises  or  blames  a particular  race,  depends  at  least  as  much 
on  the  character  of  the  writer  as  on  that  of  the  people. 

On  the  whole,  however,  I think  we  may  assume  that 
life  and  property  are  far  less  secure  in  savage  than  in 
civilised  communities  ; and  though  the  guilt  of  a murder 
or  a theft  may  be  very  different  under  different  circum- 
stances, to  the  sufferer  the  result  is  much  the  same. 

Mr.  Galbraith,  who  lived  for  many  years,  as  Indian  agent, 
among  the  Sioux  (North  America),  thus  describes  them  :l 
They  are  ‘ bigoted,  barbarous,  and  exceedingly  super- 
stitious. They  regard  most  of  the  vices  as  virtues.  Theft, 
arson,  rape,  and  murder  are  among  them  regarded  as  the 
means  of  distinction ; and  the  young  Indian  from  child- 
hood is  taught  to  regard  killing  as  the  highest  of  virtues. 
In  their  dances,  and  at  their  feasts,  the  warriors  recite 
their  deeds  of  theft,  pillage,  and  slaughter  as  precious 
things ; and  the  highest,  indeed  the  only,  ambition  of  a 
young  brave  is  to  secure  “the  feather,”  which  is  but  a 
record  of  his  having  murdered  or  participated  in  the 
murder  of  some  human  being — whether  man,  woman,  or 
child,  it  is  immaterial;  and,  after  he  has  secured  his 
first  “ feather,”  appetite  is  whetted  to  increase  the  number 
in  his  cap,  as  an  Indian  brave  is  estimated  by  the  number 
of  his  feathers.5 

In  Tahiti  the  missionaries  considered  that  ‘ not  less  than 
two-thirds  of  the  children  were  murdered  by  their  parents.52 
Mr.  Ellis  adds,  c I do  not  recollect  having  met  with  a 
female  in  the  islands  during  the  whole  period  of  my  resi- 
dence there,  who  had  been  a mother  while  idolatry  pre- 
vailed, who  had  not  imbrued  her  hands  in  the  blood  of 
her  offspring.5  Mr.  Nott  also  makes  the  same  assertion. 


J Ethn.  Journal,  1869,  p.  304. 

2 Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  i.  pp.  334,  340. 


THE  CHARACTER  OP  SAVAGE  RACES. 


261 


Girls  were  more  often  killed  than  boys,  because  they 
were  of  less  use  in  fishing  and  in  war. 

Mr.  Wallace  maintains  that  savages  act  up  to  their 
simple  moral  code  at  least  as  well  as  we  do ; but  if  a man’s 
simple  moral  code  permits  him  to  rob  or  murder,  that  may 
be  some  excuse  for  him,  but  it  is  little  consolation  to  the 
sufferer. 

As  a philosophical  question,  however,  the  relative  cha- 
racter of  different  races  is  less  interesting  than  their  moral 
condition. 

Mr.  Wallace,  in  the  concluding  chapter  of  his  interesting 
work  on  the  Malay  Archipelago,  has  expressed  the  opinion 
that  while  civilised  communities  ‘ have  progressed  vastly 
beyond  the  savage  state  in  intellectual  achievements,  we 
have  not  advanced  equally  in  morals.5  Nay,  he  even  goes 
further : in  a perfect  social  state,  he  says,  c every  man 
would  have  a sufficiently  well-balanced  intellectual  organi- 
sation to  understand  the  moral  law  in  all  its  details,  and 
would  require  no  other  motive  but  the  free  impulses  of  his 
own  nature  to  obey  that  law.  Now,  it  is  very  remarkable 
that  among  people  in  a very  low  stage  of  civilisation,  we 
find  some  approach  to  such  a perfect  social  state  j 5 and  he 
adds,  ‘it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  mass  of  our 
populations  have  not  at  all  advanced  beyond  the  savage 
code  of  morals,  and  have  in  many  cases  sunk  below  it.5 

Far  from  thinking  this  true,  I should  rather  be  disposed 
to  say  that  Man  has,  perhaps,  made  more  progress  in 
moral  than  in  either  material  or  intellectual  advancement ; 
for  while  even  the  lowest  savages  have  many  material  and 
intellectual  attainments,  they  are,  it  seems  to  me,  almost 
entirely  wanting  in  moral  feeling,  though  I am  aware  that 
the  contrary  opinion  has  been  expressed  by  many  eminent 
authorities. 


262 


PROGRESS  IN  MORALS. 


Thus  Lord  Karnes 1 assumes  as  an  undoubted  fact  ‘ that 
every  individual  is  endued  with  a sense  of  right  and  wrong, 
more  or  less  distinct;5  and  after  admitting  that  very 
different  views  as  to  morals  are  held  by  different  people 
and  different  races,  he  remarks,  * these  facts  tend  not  to 
disprove  the  reality  of  a common  sense  in  morals  : they 
only  prove  that  the  moral  sense  has  not  been  equally 
perfect  at  all  times,  nor  in  all  countries.5 

Hume  expresses  the  same  opinion  in  very  decided 
language.  ‘ Let  a man’s  insensibility,5  he  says,  ‘ be  ever 
so  great,  he  must  often  be  touched  with  the  images  of 
right  and  wrong ; and  let  his  prejudices  be  ever  so  obsti- 
nate, he  must  observe  that  others  are  susceptible  of  like 
impressions.52  Nay  he  even  maintains  that  c those  who 
have  denied  the  reality  of  moral  distinctions,  may  be 
ranked  among  the  disingenuous  disputants  ; nor  is  it  con- 
ceivable that  any  human  creature  could  ever  seriously 
believe  that  all  characters  and  actions  were  alike  entitled 
to  the  affection  and  regard  of  every  one.5 

Mr.  Wallace  draws  a charming  picture  of  some  small 
savage  communities  which  he  has  visited.  Each  man,  he 
says,  scrupulously  respects  the  rights  of  his  fellow,  and 
any  infraction  of  those  rights  rarely  or  never  takes  place. 
In  such  a community  all  are  nearly  equal.  There  are  none 
of  those  wide  distinctions  of  education  and  ignorance, 
wealth  and  poverty,  master  and  servant,  which  are  the 
product  of  our  civilisation ; there  i3  none  of  that  wide- 
spread division  of  labour,  which,  while  it  increases  wealth, 
produces  also  conflicting  interests ; there  is  not  that  severe 
competition  and  struggle  for  existence,  or  for  wealth, 
which  the  population  of  civilised  countries  inevitably 
creates.5 

1 History  of  Man,  vol.  ii.  p.  9,  yoI.  2 Hume’s  Essays,  vol.  ii.  p.  203. 
iv.  p.  18. 


FAMILY  AFFECTION  AND  MORAL  FEELING. 


263 


But  does  this  prove  that  they  are  in  a high  moral  con- 
dition ? does  it  prove  even  that  they  have  any  moral  sense 
at  all?  Surely  not.  For  if  it  does,  we  must  equally  credit 
rooks  and  bees,  and  most  other  gregarious  animals,  with 
a moral  state  higher  than  that  of  civilised  man.  I would 
not  indeed  venture  to  assert  that  the  ant  or  the  bee  is  not 
possessed  of  moral  feelings,  but  we  are  surely  not  in  a posi- 
tion to  affirm  it.  In  the  very  passage  quoted,  Mr.  Wallace 
has  pointed  out  that  the  inducements  to  crime  are  in  small 
communities  much  less  than  in  populous  countries.  The 
absence  of  crime,  however,  does  not  constitute  virtue,  and, 
without  temptation,  mere  innocence  has  no  merit. 

Moreover,  in  small  communities  almost  all  the  members 
are  related  to  one  another,  and  family  affection  puts  on 
the  appearance  of  virtue.  But  though  parental  and  filial 
affection  possesses  a very  moral  aspect,  they  have  a totally 
different  origin  and  a distinct  character. 

We  do  not  generally  attribute  moral  feelings  to  quad- 
rupeds and  birds,  yet  there  is  perhaps  no  stronger  feeling 
than  that  of  the  mother  for  her  offspring.  She  will  submit 
to  any  sacrifices  for  their  welfare,  and  fight  against  almost 
any  odds  for  their  protection.  No  follower  of  Mr.  Darwin 
will  be  surprised  at  this ; because  for  generation  after 
generation,  those  mothers  in  whom  this  feeling  was  most 
strong  have  had  the  best  chance  of  rearing  their  young. 
It  is  not,  however,  moral  feeling  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term  ; and  she  would  indeed  be  a cold-hearted  mother  who 
cherished  and  protected  her  infant  only  because  it  was 
right  to  do  so. 

Family  affection  and  moral  feeling  have  indeed  been 
very  generally  confused  together  by  travellers,  yet  there  is 
some  direct  testimony  which  appears  to  show  that  the 
moral  condition  of  savages  is  really  much  lower  than  has 
been  generally  supposed. 


264 


ABSENCE  OF  MORAL  FEELING. 


Thus,  Mr.  Dove,  speaking  of  the  Tasmanians,  asserts 
that  they  were  entirely  without  any  ‘ moral  views  and 
impressions.5 

Governor  Eyre  says  of  the  Australians  that  6 having  no 
moral  sense  of  what  is  just  and  equitable  in  the  abstract, 
their  only  test  of  propriety  must  in  such  cases  be,  whether 
they  are  numerically  or  physically  strong  enough  to  brave 
the  vengeance  of  those  whom  they  may  have  provoked,  or 
injured.51 

‘ Conscience,5  says  Burton,  does  not  exist  in  Eastern 
Africa,  and  ‘ repentance 5 expresses  regret  for  missed 
opportunities  of  mortal  crime.  Bobbery  constitutes  an 
honourable  man;  murder — the  more  atrocious  the  mid- 
night crime  the  better — makes  the  hero.2 

The  Yoruba  negroes,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  accord- 
ing to  the  same  author,3  c are  covetous,  cruel,  and  wholly 
deficient  in  what  the  civilised  man  calls  conscience;5 
though  it  is  right  to  add  that  some  of  his  other  statements 
with  reference  to  this  tribe  seem  opposed  to  this  view. 

Mr.  Neighbors  states,  that  among  the  Comanches  of 
Texas  ‘no  individual  action  is  considered  a crime,  but 
every  man  acts  for  himself  according  to  his  own  judgment, 
unless  some  superior  power,  for  instance,  that  of  a popular 
chief,  should  exercise  authority  over  him.  They  believe 
that  when  they  were  created,  the  Great  Spirit  gave  them 
the  privilege  of  a free  and  unconstrained  use  of  their  in- 
dividual faculties.54 

Speaking  of  the  Kaffirs,  Mr.  Casalis,  who  lived  for 
twenty-three  years  in  South  Africa,  says  5 that  ‘ morality 
among  these  people  depends  so  entirely  upon  social  order, 

1 Discoveries  in  Central  Australia,  also  vol.  ii.  p.  218. 

vol.  ii.  p.  384.  4 Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  ii. 

2 Burton’s  First  Footsteps  in  East  p.  131. 

Africa,  p.  176.  5 The  Basutos,  p.  300. 

* Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  303.  See 


MORALITY  AND  RELIGION. 


265 


that  all  political  disorganisation  is  immediately  followed 
by  a state  of  degeneracy,  which  the  re-establishment  of 
order  alone  can  rectify/  Thus  then,  although  their  lan- 
guage contained  words  signifying  most  of  the  virtues,  as 
well  as  the  vices,  it  would  appear  from  the  above  passages 
that  their  moral  quality  was  not  clearly  recognised;  it 
must  be  confessed,  however,  that  the  evidence  is  not  very 
conclusive,  as  Mr.  Casalis,  even  in  the  same  chapter,  ex- 
presses an  opinion  on  the  point  scarcely  consistent  with 
that  quoted  above. 

The  Tongans,  or  Friendly  Islanders,  had  in  many  res- 
pects made  great  advances,  yet  Mariner1  states  that,  ‘ on  a 
strict  examination  of  their  language,  we  discover  no  words 
essentially  expressive  of  some  of  the  higher  qualities  of 
human  merit : as  virtue,  justice,  humanity,  nor  of  the  con- 
trary, as  vice,  injustice,  cruelty,  &c.  They  have,  indeed, 
expressions  for  these  ideas,  but  they  are  equally  applicable 
to  other  things.  To  express  a virtuous  or  good  man,  they 
would  say  cc  tangata  lille,”  a good  man,  or  “ tangata  loto 
lille,”  a man  with  a good  mind ; but  the  word  lille,  good 
(unlike  our  virtuous)  is  equally  applicable  to  an  axe,  canoe, 
or  anything  else ; again,  they  have  no  word  to  express 
humanity,  mercy,  &c.,  but  afa,  which  rather  means  friend- 
ship, and  is  a word  of  cordial  salutation/ 

Mr.  Campbell  observes  that  the  Soors  (one  of  the  abori- 
ginal tribes  of  India),  6 while  described  as  small,  mean,  and 
very  black,  and  like  the  Santals  naturally  harmless,  peace- 
able, and  industrious,  are  also  said  to  be  without  moral 
sense/ 2 

Indeed,  I do  not  remember  a single  instance  in  which  a 
savage  is  recorded  as  having  shown  any  symptoms  of 
remorse ; and  almost  the  only  case  I can  at  this  moment 

1 Tonga  Islands,  vol.  ii.  p.  147. 

2 Gr.  Campbell.  The  Ethnology  of  India,  p.  37. 


266  FUTURE  LIFE  NOT  NECESSARILY  CONNECTED 

call  to  mind,  in  which  a man  belonging  to  one  of  the 
lower  races  has  accounted  for  an  act,  by  saying  explicitly 
that  it  was  right,  was  when  Mr.  Hunt  asked  a young 
Feejeean  why  he  had  killed  his  mother.1 

It  is  very  clear  that  religion,  except  in  very  advanced 
races,  has  no  moral  aspect  or  influence.  The  deities  are 
almost  invariably  evil. 

In  Feejee*  c the  names  of  the  gods  indicate  their  charac- 
ters. Thus,  Tunambanga  is  the  adulterer.  Ndauthina 
steals  women  of  rank  and  beauty  by  night  or  torch-light. 
Kumbunavanua  is  the  rioter ; Mbatimona,  the  brain-eater  ; 
Kavuravu,  the  murderer ; Mainatavasara,  fresh  from  the 
cutting-up  or  slaughter ; and  a host  besides  of  the  same 
sort.5 

The  character  of  the  Greek  gods  is  familiar  to  us,  and 
was  anything  but  moral.  Such  Beings  would  certainly 
not  reward  the  good,  or  punish  the  evil.  Hence,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  Socrates  saw  little  connection  between 
ethics  and  religion,  or  that  Aristotle  altogether  separated 
morality  from  theology.  Hence  also  we  cannot  be  sur- 
prised to  find  that,  even  when  a belief  in  a future  state  has 
dawned  on  the  uncivilised  mind,  it  is  not  at  first  associated 
with  reward  or  punishment. 

The  Australians,  though  they  had  a vague  belief  in 
ghosts,  and  supposed  that  after  death  they  become  white- 
men  ; that,  as  they  say  ‘ Fall  down  blackman,  jump  up 
whiteman/  have  no  idea  of  retribution.3  The  Guinea 
negroes  4 have  no  idea  of  future  rewards  or  punishments, 
for  the  good  or  ill  actions  of  their  past  life/ 4 Other  negro 
races,  however,  have  more  advanced  ideas  on  the  subject. 

‘ The  Tahitians  believe  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  at 
least  its  existence  in  a separate  state,  and  that  there  are 

1 Wilkes’  Voyage,  p.  95.  3 Voyage  of  the  ‘Fly,’  vol.  ii.  p.  29. 

2 Fiji  and  the  Fijians  vol.  i.  p.  218.  4 Bosnian,  loo . cit.  p.  401. 


"WITH  REWARDS  AND  PUNISHMENTS. 


267 


two  situations  of  different  degrees  of  happiness,  somewhat 
analogous  to  our  heaven  and  hell : the  superior  situation 
they  call  66  Tavirua  Ferai,”  the  other  “ Tiahoboo.”  They 
do  not,  however,  consider  them  as  places  of  reward  and 
punishment,  but  as  receptacles  for  different  classes ; the 
first  for  their  chiefs  and  principal  people,  the  other  for 
those  of  inferior  rank  ; for  they  do  not  suppose  that  their 
actions  here  in  the  least  influence  their  future  state,  or 
indeed  that  they  come  under  the  cognizance  of  their  deities 
at  all.  Their  religion,  therefore,  if  it  has  no  influence  upon 
their  morals,  is  at  least  disinterested : and  their  expressions 
of  adoration  and  reverence,  whether  by  words  or  actions, 
arise  only  from  a humble  sense  of  their  own  inferiority, 
and  the  ineffable  excellence  of  divine  perfection/1 

In  Tonga  and  at  hTukahiva  the  natives  believe  that  their 
chiefs  are  immortal,  but  not  the  common  people.2  The 
Tonga  people,  says  Mariner,  c do  not  indeed  believe  in  any 
future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments/3 

Williams  4 tells  us  that  € offences,  in  Fijian  estimation, 
are  light  or  grave  according  to  the  rank  of  the  offender. 
Murder  by  a chief  is  less  heinous  than  a petty  larceny  com- 
mitted by  a man  of  low  rank.  Only  a few  crimes  are 
regarded  as  serious  ; e.g.,  theft,  adultery,  abduction,  witch- 
craft, infringement  of  a tabu,  disrespect  to  a chief,  incen- 
diarism, and  treason  ;3  and  he  elsewhere  mentions  that  the 
Fijians,5  though  believing  in  a future  existence,  * shut  out 
from  it  the  idea  of  any  moral  retribution  in  the  shape  either 
of  reward  or  punishment/  The  Sumatrans,  according  to 
Marsden,  c had  some  idea  of  a future  life,  but  not  as  a state 
of  retribution ; conceiving  immortality  to  be  the  lot  of  a 
rich  rather  than  of  a good  man.  I recollect  that  an 

1 See  Cook’s  Voyage  round  the  3 Tonga  Islands,  vol.  ii.  pp.  147,  148. 

World  in  Hawkesworth’s  Voyages,  yoL  4 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  28. 

ii.  p.  239.  5 Ibid.  p.  243. 

* Klemm,  vol.  iv.  p.  351. 


268 


MORALITY  AND  RELIGION. 


inhabitant  of  one  of  the  islands  farther  eastward  observed 
to  me,  with  great  simplicity,  that  only  great  men  went  to 
the  skies  ; how  should  poor  men  find  admittance  there  ? 51 

In  the  Island  of  Bintang,2  ‘ the  people  having  an  idea  of 
predestination,  always  conceived  present  possession  to  con- 
stitute right,  however  that  possession  might  have  been 
acquired ; but  yet  they  made  no  scruple  of  deposing  and 
murdering  their  sovereigns,  and  justified  their  acts  by  this 
argument ; that  the  fate  of  concerns  so  important  as  the 
lives  of  kings  was  in  the  hands  of  God,  whose  vicegerents 
they  were,  and  that  if  it  was  not  agreeable  to  him,  and  the 
consequence  of  his  will,  that  they  should  perish  by  the 
daggers  of  their  subjects,  it  could  not  so  happen.  Thus  it 
appears  that  their  religious  ideas  were  just  strong  enough 
to  banish  from  their  minds  every  moral  sentiment.1 2 3 4 5 

The  Kookies  of  Chittagong  6 have  no  idea  of  hell  or 
heaven,  or  of  any  punishment  for  evil  deeds,  or  rewards 
for  good  actions.53  According  to  Bailey,  again,  the  Yeddahs 
of  Ceylon  ‘ have  no  idea  of  a future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments.54 

The  Hos  in  Central  India  6 believe  that  the  souls  of  the 
dead  become  “ bhoots,55  spirits,  but  no  thought  of  reward 
or  punishment  is  connected  with  the  change.55 

Speaking  of  South  Africa  Kolben6  says, that  the  Hot- 
tentots believe  the  immortality  of  the  soul  has  been  shown 
in  a foregoing  chapter.  But  they  have  no  notion,  that  ever 
I could  gather,  of  rewards  and  punishments  after  death.5 

Among  the  Mexicans7  and  Peruvians,8  again,  the  religion 

1 Marsden’s  History  of  Sumatra,  p.  p.  38. 

289.  6 History  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 

2 Ibid.  p.  412.  yoI.  i.  p.  314. 

3 Rennel,  quoted  in  Lewin’s  Hill  7 Muller,  Ges.  der  Amer.  Urreligion., 

Tracts  of  Chittagong,  p.  110.  p.  565. 

4 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.,  vol.  ii.  p.  8 Ibid.  p.  410.  Hut  see  Prescott, 

300.  i.  p.  83. 

a Dalton,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,  18G8, 


LAW  AND  EIGHT. 


269 


was  entirely  independent  of  moral  considerations,  and  in 
some  other  parts  of  America  the  future  condition  is  sup- 
posed to  depend  not  on  conduct,  but  on  rank.1  In  North 
America  4 it  is  rare/  says  Tanner,  4 to  observe  among  the 
Indians  any  ideas  which  would  lead  to  the  belief  that 
they  look  upon  a future  state  as  one  of  retribution.’2 

The  Arabs  conceive  that  a broken  oath  brings  misfortune 
on  the  place  where  it  was  uttered.3 

In  fact,  I believe  that  the  lower  races  of  men  may  be 
said  to  be  deficient  in  any  idea  of  right,  though  quite 
familiar  with  that  of  law.  This  leads  to  some  curious, 
though  not  illogical  results.  Thus  at  Jenna,4  and  in  the 
surrounding  districts,  4 whenever  a town  is  deprived  of  its 
chief,  the  inhabitants  acknowledge  no  law — anarchy, 
troubles,  and  confusion  immediately  prevail,  and  till  a 
successor  is  appointed  all  labour  is  at  an  end.  The 
stronger  oppress  the  weak,  and  consummate  every  species 
of  crime,  without  being  amenable  to  any  tribunal  for  their 
actions.  Private  property  is  no  longer  respected;  and 
thus  before  a person  arrives  to  curb  its  licentiousness,  a 
town  is  not  unfrequently  reduced  from  a flourishing 
state  of  prosperity  and  of  happiness  to  all  the  horrors  of 
desolation.5 

That  there  should  be  any  races  of  men  so  deficient  in 
moral  feeling,  was  altogether  opposed  to  the  preconceived 
ideas  with  which  I commenced  the  study  of  savage  life, 
and  I have  arrived  at  the  conviction  by  slow  degrees,  and 
even  with  reluctance.  I have,  however,  been  forced  to 
this  conclusion,  not  only  by  the  direct  statements  of 
travellers,  but  also  by  the  general  tenor  of  their  remarks, 

1 Muller,  Ges.desAmer.  Urreligion.,  p.  190. 

| p.  139.  See  also  pp.  289,  565.  4 R.  and  J.  Lander’s  Niger  Expedi. 

2 Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  369.  tion,  vol.  i.  p.  96. 

3 Klemm,  Culturgeschichte,  vol.  iv. 


270 


ORIGIN  OF  MORAL  FEELING. 


and  especially  by  tbe  remarkable  absence  of  repentance 
and  remorse  among  the  lower  races  of  men. 

On  the  whole,  then,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  moral 
feelings  deepen  with  the  gradual  growth  of  a race. 

External  circumstances,  no  doubt,  exercise  much  in- 
fluence on  character.  We  very  often  see,  however,  that 
the  possession  of  one  virtue  is  counterbalanced  by  some 
corresponding  defect.  Thus  the  North  American  Indians 
are  brave  and  generous,  but  they  are  also  cruel  and  reck- 
less of  life.  .Moreover,  in  the  early  stages  of  law,  motive 
is  never  considered ; a fact  which  shows  how  little  hold 
morality  once  had  even  on  communities  which  have  made 
considerable  progress.  Some  cases  which  have  been  quoted 
as  illustrating  the  contrast  between  the  ideas  of  virtue  en- 
tertained by  different  races  seem  to  prove  the  absence, 
rather  than  the  perversity,  of  sentiment  on  the  subject. 
I cannot  believe,  for  instance,  that  theft  and  murder  have 
ever  been  really  regarded  as  virtues.  In  a barbarous 
state  they  were,  no  doubt,  means  of  distinction,  and 
in  the  absence  of  moral  feelings  were  regarded  with  no 
reprobation.  I cannot,  however,  suppose  that  they  could 
be  considered  as  c right/  though  they  might  give  rise  to  a 
feeling  of  respect,  and  even  of  admiration.  So  also  the 
Greeks  regarded  the  duplicity  of  Ulysses  as  an  element 
in  his  greatness,  but  surely  not  as  a virtue  in  itself. 

What,  then,  is  the  origin  of  moral  feeling  ? Some  regard 
it  as  intuitive,  as  an  original  instinct  implanted  in  the 
human  mind.  Herbert  Spencer,1  on  the  contrary,  main- 
tains that  ‘ moral  intuitions  are  the  results  of  accumulated 
experiences  of  utility ; gradually  organised  and  inherited, 
they  have  come  to  be  quite  independent  of  conscious 
experience.  Just  in  the  same  way  that  I believe  the 
intuition  of  space,  possessed  by  any  living  individual,  to 

1 Bain’s  Mental  and  Moral  Science,  p.  722. 


ORIGIN  OF  MORAL  FEELING, 


271 


have  arisen  from  organised  and  consolidated  experiences 
of  all  antecedent  individuals,  who  bequeathed  to  him  their 
slowly-developed  nervous  organisation ; just  as  I believe 
that  this  intuition,  requiring  only  to  be  made  definite  and 
complete  by  personal  experiences,  has  practically  become 
a form  of  thought  apparently  quite  independent  of  ex- 
perience ; so  do  I believe  that  the  experiences  of  utility, 
organised  and  consolidated  through  all  past  generations  of 
the  human  race,  have  been  producing  corresponding  ner- 
vous modifications,  which,  by  continued  transmission  and 
accumulation,  have  become  in  us  certain  faculties  of  moral 
intuition — certain  emotions  responding  to  right  and  wrong 
conduct,  which  have  no  apparent  basis  in  the  individual 
experiences  of  utility/ 

I cannot  entirely  subscribe  to  either  of  these  views.  The 
moral  feelings  are  now,  no  doubt,  intuitive,  but  if  the  lower 
races  of  savages  have  none,  they  evidently  cannot  have 
been  so  originally  nor  can  they  be  regarded  as  natural  to 
man.  Neither  can  I accept  the  opposite  theory  ; while 
entirely  agreeing  with  Mr.  Spencer  that  ‘ there  have  been, 
and  still  are,  developing  in  the  race,  certain  fundamental 
moral  intuitions/  I feel,  with  Mr.  Hutton,  much  difficulty 
in  conceiving  that,  in  Mr.  Spencer’s  words,  ‘ these  moral 
intuitions  are  the  results  of  the  accumulated  experiences 
of  Utility,’  that  is  to  say,  of  Utility  to  the  individual.  It 
is  evident,  indeed,  that  feelings  acting  on  generation  after 
generation  might  produce  a continually  deepening  convic- 
tion, but  I fail  to  perceive  how  this  explains  the  difference 
between  right’  and  ‘ utility.’  Yet  utility  in  one  sense 
has , I think,  been  naturally  and  yet  unconsciously  selected 
as  the  basis  of  morals.  Mr.  Hutton,  if  I understand  him 
correctly,  doubts  this. 

Honesty,  for  instance,  he  says,1  6 must  certainly  have 
1 Macmillan’s  Magazine,  1869,  p.  271. 


272 


ORIGIN  OF  MORAL  FEELING. 


been  associated  by  our  ancestors  with,  many  unhappy  as 
well  as  many  happy  consequences,  and  we  know  that  in 
ancient  Greece  dishonesty  was  openly  and  actually  as- 
sociated with  happy  consequences,  in  the  admiration  for 
the  guile  and  craft  of  Ulysses.  Hence  the  moral  associ- 
ations slowly  formed,  according  to  Mr.  Spencer,  in  favour 
of  honesty,  must  have  been,  in  fact,  a mere  predominance 
of  association  with  a balance  on  one  side.5 

This  seems  to  me  a good  crucial  case.  Honesty,  on  their 
own  part,  may,  indeed,  have  been,  and  no  doubt  was,  ‘ as- 
sociated by  our  ancestors  with  many  unhappy,  as  well  as 
many  happy  consequences  ; 5 but  honesty  on  the  part  of 
others  could  surely  have  nothing  but  happy  consequences. 
Thus,  while  the  perception  that  e Honesty  is  the  best  policy 5 
was,  no  doubt,  as  Mr.  Hutton  observes,  ‘long  subsequent 
to  the  most  imperious  enunciation  of  its  sacredness  as  a 
duty,5  honesty  would  be  recognised  as  a virtue  so  soon  as 
men  perceived  the  sacredness  of  any  duty.  As  soon  as 
contracts  were  entered  into  between  individuals  or  states, 
it  became  manifestly  the  interest  of  each  that  the  other 
should  be  honest.  Any  failure  in  this  respect  would 
naturally  be  condemned  by  the  sufferer.  It  is  precisely 
bee ause  honesty  is  sometimes  associated  with  unhappy  con- 
sequences, that  it  is  regarded  as  a virtue.  If  it  had  always 
been  directly  advantageous  to  all  parties,  it  would  have 
been  classed  as  useful,  not  as  right ; it  would  have  lacked 
the  essential  element  which  renders  it  a virtue. 

Or  take  respect  for  Age.  We  find,  even  in  Australia, 
laws,  if  I may  so  term  them,  appropriating  the  best  of 
everything  to  the  old  men.  Naturally  the  old  men  lose  no 
opportunity  of  impressing  these  injunctions  on  the  young  ; 
they  praise  those  who  conform,  and  condemn  those  wdio 
resist.  Hence  the  custom  is  strictly  adhered  to.  I do 
not  say,  that  to  the  Australian  mind,  this  presents 


ORIGIN  OF  MORAL  FEELING. 


273 


itself  as  a sacred  duty,  but  it  would  I think  in  the  course 
of  time  have  come  to  be  so  considered. 

For  when  a race  had  made  some  progress  in  intellec- 
tual development,  a difference  would  certainly  be  felt 
between  those  acts  which  a man  was  taught  to  do  as  con- 
ducive to  his  own  direct  advantage,  and  those  which 
were  not  so,  and  yet  which  were  enjoined  for  any  other 
reason.  Hence  would  arise  the  idea  of  right  and  duty , as 
distinct  from  mere  utility. 

How  much  more  our  notions  of  right  depend  on  the 
lessons  we  receive  when  young  than  on  hereditary  ideas, 
becomes  evident  if  we  consider  the  different  moral  codes 
existing  in  our  own  country.  Nay,  even  in  the  very  same 
individual  two  contradictory  systems  may  often  be  seen 
side  by  side  in  incongruous  association.  Thus  the 
Christian  code  and  the  ordinary  code  of  honour  seem 
to  be  opposed  in  some  respects,  yet  the  great  majority  of 
men  hold,  or  suppose  that  they  hold,  them  both. 

Lastly  it  may  be  observed  tnat  in  our  own  case  religion 
and  morality  are  closely  connected  together.  Yet  the 
sacred  character,  which  forms  an  integral  part  in  our  con- 
ception of  duty,  could  not  arise  until  Beligion  became 
moral.  Nor  would  this  take  place  until  the  Deities  were 
conceived  to  be  beneficent  beings.  As  soon,  however,  as  this 
was  the  case,  they  would  naturally  be  supposed  to  regard 
with  approbation  all  that  tended  to  benefit  their  wor- 
shippers, and  to  condemn  all  actions  of  the  opposite 
character.  This  step  was  an  immense  benefit  to  mankind, 
since  that  dread  of  the  ui;seen  powers  which  had  previously 
been  wasted  on  the  production  of  mere  ceremonies  and 
sacrifices,  at  once  invested  the  moral  feelings  with  a 
sacredness,  and  consequently  with  a force,  which  they  had 
not  until  then  possessed. 

Authority,  then,  seems  to  me  the  origin,  and  utility, 


13 


274 


ORIGIN  OF  MORAL  FEELING. 


though,  not  in  the  iftanner  suggested  by  Mr.  Spencer,  the 
criterion,  of  virtue.  Mr.  Hutton,  however,  in  the  conclud- 
ing paragraph  of  his  interesting  paper,  urges  that  surely 
by  this  time  ‘ some  one  elementary  moral  law  should  be  as 
deeply  ingrained  in  human  practice  as  the  geometrical 
law  that  a straight  line  is  the  shortest  way  between  two 
points.  Which  of  them  is  it  ? 5 I see  no  such  necessity. 
A child  whose  parents  belong  to  different  nations,  with 
different  moral  codes,  would,  I suppose,  have  the  moral 
feeling  deep,  and  yet  might  be  without  any  settled  ideas 
as  to  particular  moral  duties.  And  this  is  in  reality  our 
own  case.  Our  ancestors  have,  now  for  many  generations, 
had  a feeling  that  some  actions  were  right  and  some  were 
wrong,  but  at  different  times  they  have  had  very  different 
codes  of  morality.  Hence  we  have  a deeply-seated  moral 
feeling,  and  yet,  as  anyone  who  has  children  may  satisfy 
himself,  no  such  decided  moral  code.  Children  have  a 
deep  feeling  of  right  and  wrong,  but  no  such  decided  or 
intuitive  conviction  which  actions  are  right  and  which  are 
wrong. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


LANGUAGE, 


LTHOUGrH  it  has  been  at  various  times  stated  that 


certain  savage  tribes  are  entirely  without  language, 
none  of  these  accounts  appear  to  be  well  authenticated,  and 
they  are  a priori  extremely  improbable. 

At  any  rate,  even  the  lowest  races  of  which  we  have  any 
satisfactory  account  possess  a language,  imperfect  though 
it  may  be,  and  eked  out  to  a great  extent  by  signs.  I do 
not  suppose,  however,  that  this  custom  has  arisen  from  the 
absence  of  words  to  represent  their  ideas,  but  rather 
because  in  all  countries  inhabited  by  savages  the  number 
of  languages  is  very  great,  and  hence  there  is  a great  ad- 
vantage in  being  able  to  communicate  by  signs. 

Thus  James,  in  his  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
speaking  of  the  Kiawa-Kaskaia  Indians,  says,  6 These 
nations,  although  constantly  associating  together  and 
united  under  the  influence  of  the  Bear-Tooth,  are  yet 
totally  ignorant  of  each  other’s  language,  insomuch  that 
it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  see  two  individuals  of 
different  nations  sitting  upon  the  ground,  and  conversing 
freely  by  means  of  the  language  of  signs.  In  the  art  of 
thus  conveying  their  ideas  they  were  thorough  adepts ; and 
their  manual  display  was  only  interrupted  at  remote  inter- 
vals by  a smile,  or  by  the  auxiliary  of  an  articulated  word 
of  the  language  of  the  Crow  Indians,  which  to  a very 


276 


GESTURE  LANGUAGE. 


limited  extent  passes  current  among  them.’ 1 Fisher,2  also, 
speaking  of  the  Comanclies  and  various  surrounding  tribes, 
says  that  they  have  ‘ a language  of  signs,  however,  by 
which  all  Indians  and  traders  can  understand  one  another ; 
and  they  always  make  these  signs  when  communicating 
among  themselves.  The  men,  when  conversing  together, 
in  their  lodges,  sit  upon  skins,  cross-legged  like  a Turk, 
and  speak  and  make  signs  in  corroboration  of  what  they 
say,  with  their  hands,  so  that  either  a blind  or  a deaf  man 
could  understand  them.  For  instance,  I meet  an  Indian, 
and  wish  to  ask  him  if  he  saw  six  waggons  drawn  by 
horned  cattle,  with  three  Mexican  and  three  American 
teamsters,  and  a man  mounted  on  horseback.  I make  these 
signs  : — I point  “you,”  then  to  his  eyes,  meaning  “ see ; ” 
then  hold  up  all  my  fingers  on  the  right  hand  and  the  fore 
finger  on  the  left,  meaning  “ six ; ” then  I make  two  circles 
by  bringing  the  ends  of  my  thumbs  and  forefingers 
together,  and,  holding  my  two  hands  out,  move  my  wrists 
in  such  a way  as  to  indicate  waggon  wheels  revolving,  mean- 
ing “ waggons ;”  then,  by  making  an  upward  motion  with 
each  hand  from  both  sides  of  my  head,  I indicate  “ horns,” 
signifying  horned  cattle ; then  by  first  holding  up  three 
fingers,  and  then  by  placing  my  extended  right  hand  below 
my  lower  lip  and  moving  it  downward  stopping  in  midway 
down  the  chest,  I indicate  “ beard,”  meaning  Mexican ; and 
with  three  fingers  again,  and  passing  my  right  hand  from 
left  to  right  in  front  of  my  forehead,  I indicate  “ white 
brow”  or  “pale  face.”  I then  hold  up  my  fore  finger, 
meaning  one  man,  and  by  placing  the  fore  finger  of  my 
left  hand  between  the  fore  and  second  finger  of  my  right 
hand,  representing  a man  astride  of  a horse,  and  by  moving 
my  hands  up  and  down  give  the  motion  of  a horse  gallop- 

1 See  James’s  Expedition  to  the  2 Trans.  Ethn.  Soe.  1869,  vol.  i. 
Rocky  Mountains,  vol.  iii.  p.  52.  p.  283. 


GESTURE  LANGUAGE. 


277 


ing  with,  a man  on  liis  back.  I in  this  way  ask  the  Indian, 
“ Yon  see  six  waggons,  horned  cattle,  three  Mexicans,  three 
Americans,  one  man  on  horse-back  ? 55  If  he  holds  np  his 
fore  finger  and  lowers  it  quickly,  as  if  he  was  pointing  at 
some  object  on  the  ground,  he  means  “ Yes ;55  if  he  moves  it 
from  side  to  side,  upon  the  principle  that  people  sometimes 
move  their  head  from  side  to  side,  he  means  “ No.”  The 
time  required  to  make  these  signs  would  be  about  the  same 
as  if  you  asked  the  question  verbally.5  The  Bushmen  also 
are  said  to  intersperse  their  language  with  so  many  signs 
that  they  are  unintelligible  in  the  dark,  and  when  they 
want  to  converse  at  night,  are  compelled  to  collect  round 
their  camp  fires.  So  also  Burton  tells  us  that  the  Arapahos 
of  North  America,  6 who  possess  a very  scanty  vocabulary, 
can  hardly  converse  with  one  another  in  the  dark ; to  make 
a stranger  understand  them  they  must  always  repair  to  the 
camp  fire  for  pow  wow.5 1 

A very  interesting  account  of  the  sign-language,  espe- 
cially with  reference  to  that  used  by  the  deaf  and  dumb, 
is  contained  in  Tylor’s  6 Early  History  of  Man.5  But 
although  signs  may  serve  to  convey  ideas  in  a manner 
which  would  probably  surprise  those  who  have  not  studied 
this  question ; still  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  are  far 
inferior  to  the  sounds  of  the  voice;  which,  as  already 
mentioned,  are  used  for  this  purpose  by  all  the  races  of  men 
with  whom  we  are  acquainted. 

Language,  as  it  exists  among  all  but  the  lowest  races, 
although  far  from  perfect,  is  yet  so  rich  in  terms,  and 
possesses  in  its  grammar' so  complex  an  organisation,  that 
we  cannot  wonder  at  those  who  have  attributed  to  it  a 
divine  and  miraculous  origin.  Nay,  their  view  may  be 
admitted  as  correct,  but  only  in  that  sense  in  which  a ship 


1 City  of  the  Saints,  p.  151. 


278 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  LANGUAGE. 


or  a palace  may  be  so  termed : they  are  human  insofar  as 
they  have  been  worked  out  by  man ; divine,  inasmuch  as 
in  doing  so  he  has  availed  himself  of  the  powers  which 
Providence  has  given  him.1 

M.  Penan2  draws  a distinction  between  the  origin  of 
words  and  that  of  language,  and  as  regards  the  latter,  says : 
‘ Je  persiste  done,  apres  dix  ans  de  nouvelles  etudes,  a 
envisager  le  langage  comme  forme  d’un  seul  coup,  et 
comme  sorti  instantanement  du  genie  de  chaque  race/  a 
theory  which  involves  that  of  the  plurality  of  human 
species.  No  doubt  the  complexity  and  apparent  perfection 
of  the  grammar  among  very  low  races,  is  at  first  sight  very 
surprising,  but  we  must  remember  that  the  language  of 
children  is  more  regular  than  ours.  A child  says,  ‘X  goed/ 
‘ I corned/  badder,  baddest,  &c.  Moreover  the  preservation 
of  a complicated  system  of  grammar  among  savage  tribes 
shows  that  such  a system  is  natural  to  them,  and  not 
merely  a survival  from  more  civilised  times.  Indeed,  we 
know  that  the  tendency  of  civilisation  is  towards  the  sim- 
plification of  grammatical  forms. 

Nor  must  it  by  any  means  be  supposed  that  complexity 
implies  excellence,  or  even  completeness,  in  a language. 
On  the  contrary,  it  often  arises  from  a cumbersome  mode 
of  supplying  some  radical  defect.  Adam  Smith  long  ago 
pointed  out  that  the  verb  c to  be 5 is  c the  most  abstract  and 
metaphysical  of  all  verbs ; and  consequently  could  by  no 
means  be  a word  of  early  invention.5  And  he  suggests  that 

1 Lord  Monboddo  in  combating  to  the  opinions  of  some  divines.’  He 
those  who  regard  language  as  a reve-  forgets,  however,  that  those  who  regard 
lation,  expresses  a hope  that  he  will  not,  language  as  a revelation,  do  so  in  the 
on  that  account,  be  supposed  to  * pay  teeth  of  the  express  statement  in  Gene- 
no  respect  to  the  account  given  in  our  sis  that  God  brought  the  animals 
sacred-books  of  the  origin  of  our  species ; ‘ unto  Adam  to  see  what  he  would  call 

but  it  does  not  belong  to  me,’  he  adds,  them : and  whatsoever  Adam  called 
‘as  a philosopher  or  grammarian,  every  living  creature,  that  was  the  name 
to  enquire  whether  such  account  is  to  thereof.’ 

be  understood  allegorically,  according  2 De  l’Origine  du  Langage,  p.  16. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  LANGUAGE. 


279 


the  absence  of  this  verb  probably  led  to  the  intricacy  of  con- 
jugations. 4 When  5 he  adds,  ‘ it  came  to  be  invented,  how- 
ever, as  it  had  all  the  tenses  and  modes  of  any  other  verb, 
by  being  joined  with  the  passive  participle,  it  was  capable 
of  supplying  the  place  of  the  whole  passive  voice,  and  of 
rendering  this  part  of  their  conjugations  as  simple  and 
uniform,  as  the  use  of  prepositions  had  rendered  their 
declensions.5 1 He  goes  on  to  point  out  that  the  same  re- 
marks apply  also  to  the  possessive  verb  ‘ I have,5  which 
affected  the  active  voice,  as  profoundly  as  ‘ I am 5 influenced 
the  passive;  thus  these  two  verbs  between  them,  when 
once  suggested,  enabled  mankind  to  relieve  their  memories, 
and  thus  unconsciously,  but  most  effectually,  to  simplify 
their  grammar. 

In  English  we  carry  the  same  principle  much  further, 
and  not  only  use  the  auxiliary  verbs  ‘ to  have 5 and  ‘ to  be,5 
but  also  several  others — as  do,  did ; will,  would ; shall, 
should ; can,  could ; may,  might.2  Adam  Smith  was, 
however,  mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  verb  ‘to  be5 
exists  ‘in  every  language ; 5 3 on  the  contrary,  the  complexity 
of  the  North  American  languages  is  in  a great  measure 
due  to  its  absence.  The  auxiliary  verb  ‘to  be  5 is  en- 
tirely absent  in  most  American  languages,  and  the  conse- 
quence is  that  they  turn  almost  all  their  adjectives  and 
nouns  into  verbs,  and  conjugate  them,  through  all  the 
tenses,  persons,  and  moods.4 

Again,  the  Esquimaux,  instead  of  using  adverbs,  conju- 
gate the  verb  ; they  have  special  terminations  implying  ill, 
better,  rarely,  hardly,  faithfully,  &c. ; hence,  such  a word 
as  aglekkigiartorasuarniarpok,  ‘he  goes  away  hastily  and 
exerts  himself  to  write.5  5 

1 Smith’s  Moral  Sentiments,  vol.  ii.  4 See  Gallatin,  Trans.  Amer.  Antiq. 

p.  426.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  176. 

2 Smith,  loc.  cit.  p.  432.  4 Crantz,  His.  of  Greenland,  vol.  l 

Loc.  cit . p.  426.  p.  224. 


280 


ROOT-WORDS. 


The  number  of  words  in  the  languages  of  civilised  races 
is  no  doubt  immense.  Chinese,  for  instance,  contains 
40,000;  Todd’s  edition  of  Johnson,  58,000;  Webster’s 
Dictionary,  70,000 ; and  Flugel’s  more  than  65,000.]  The 
great  majority  of  these,  however,  can  be  derived  from  cer- 
tain original  words,  or  roots,  which  are  very  few  in  number. 
In  Chinese  there  are  about  450,  Hebrew  has  been  reduced 
to  500,  and  Muller  doubts  whether  there  are  more  in 
Sanskrit.  M.  D’Orsey  even  assures  us  that  an  ordinary 
agricultural  labourer  has  not  300  words  in  his  vocabulary. 

Professor  Max  Muller 2 observes,  that  ‘ this  fact  simplifies 
immensely  the  problem  of  the  origin  of  language.  It  has 
taken  away  all  excuse  for  those  rapturous  descriptions  of 
language  which  invariably  preceded  the  argument  that 
language  must  have  a divine  origin.  We  shall  hear  no 
more  of  that  wonderful  instrument  which  can  express  all 
we  see,  and  hear,  and  taste,  and  touch,  and  smell ; which 
is  the  breathing  image  of  the  whole  world ; which  gives 
form  to  the  airy  feelings  of  our  souls,  and  body  to  the 
loftiest  dreams  of  our  imagination ; which  can  arrange  in 
accurate  perspective  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future, 
and  throw  over  everything  the  varying  hues  of  certainty, 
of  doubt,  of  contingency.’ 

This,  indeed,  is  no  new  view,  but  was  that  generally 
adopted  by  the  philologists  of  the  last  century,  and  is  fully 
borne  out  by  more  recent  researches. 

In  considering  the  origin  of  these  root-words,  we  must 
remember  that  most  of  them  are  very  ancient,  and  much 
worn  by  use.  This  greatly  enhances  the  difficulty  of  the 
problem. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  several  large  classes  of  words  with 
reference  to  the  origin  of  which  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

1 Saturday  Review,  November  2,  1861.  Lectures  on  Language,  p.  268. 

2 Loc . cit.  p.  359. 


ONOMATOPOEIA. 


281 


Many  names  of  animals,  such  as  cuckoo,  crow,  peewit,  &c., 
are  evidently  derived  from  the  sounds  made  by  those 
birds.  Everyone  admits  that  such  words  as  bang,  crack, 
purr,  whizz,  hum,  &c.,  have  arisen  from  the  attempt  to 
represent  sounds  characteristic  of  the  object  it  is  intended 
to  designate.1  Take,  again,  the  inarticulate  human  sounds 
— sob,  sigh,  moan,  groan,  laugh,  cough,  weep,  whoop, 
shriek,  yawn : or  of  animals ; as  cackle,  chuckle,  gobble, 
quack,  twitter,  chirp,  coo,  hoot,  caw,  croak,  chatter,  neigh, 
whinny,  mew,  purr,  bark,  yelp,  roar,  bellow:  the  collision  of 
hard  bodies;  clap,  rap,  tap,  knap,  snap,  trap,  flap,  slap, 
crack,  smack,  whack,  thwack,  pat,  bat,  batter,  beat,  butt ; 
and  again,  clash,  flash,  plash,  splash,  smash,  dash,  crash, 
bang,  clang,  twang,  ring,  ding,  din,  bump,  thump,  plump, 
boom,  hum,  drum,  hiss,  rustle,  bustle,  whistle,  whisper,  mur- 
mur, babble,  &c.  So  also  sounds  denoting  certain  motions 
and  actions ; whirr,  whizz,  puff,  fizz,  fly,  flit,  flow,  flutter, 
patter,  clatter,  crackle,  rattle,  bubble,  guggle,  dabble, 
grapple,  draggle,  rush,  shoot,  shot,  shut,  &c.  Many  words 
for  cutting,  and  the  objects  cut,  or  used  for  cutting  &c., 
are  obviously  of  similar  origin.  Thus  we  have  the  sound 
sh — r with  each  of  the  vowels  ; share,  a part  cut  off;  shear, 
an  instrument  for  cutting ; shire,  a division  of  a country ; 
shore,  the  division  between  land  and  sea,  or  as  we  use  it 
in  Kent,  between  two  fields;  a shower,  a number  of 
separate  particles ; again  scissors,  scythe,  shread,  scrape, 
shard,  scale,  shale,  shell,  shield,  skull,  shaist,  shatter, 
scatter,  scar,  scoop,  score,  scrape,  scratch,  scum,  scour, 
scurf,  surf,  scuttle,  sect,  shape,  sharp,  shave,  sheaf,  shed, 
shoal,  shred,  split,  splinter,  splutter,  &c.  Another  impor- 
tant class  of  words  is  evidently  founded  on  the  sounds  by 
which  we  naturally  express  our  feelings.  Thus  from  Oh  ! 

1 Wedgwood,  Introduction  to  Die.  of  English  Etymology.  Earrar,  Origin  of 
Language,  p.  89. 


282 


ABSTRACT  TERMS. 


Ah ! the  instinctive  cry  of  pain,  we  get  woe,  vse,  Latin, 
wail,  ache,  a^os  Gr. 

From  the  deep  guttural  sound  ugh,  we  have  ugly,  huge, 
and  hug. 

From  pr,  or  prut,  indicating  contempt  or  self-conceit, 
comes  proud,  pride,  &c. 

From  fie,  we  have  fiend,  foe,  feud,  foul,  Latin  putris, 
Fr.  puer,  filth,  fulsome,  fear.  In  addition  I will  only 
remark  that, 

From  that  of  smacking  the  lips  we  get  <y\VKV9 , dulcis, 
lick,  like. 

Under  these  circumstances  I cannot  but  think  that  we 
may  look  upon  the  words  above  mentioned  as  the  still  re- 
cognisable descendants  of  roots  which  were  onomatopoeic 
in  their  origin ; and  I am  glad  to  see  that  Professor  Max 
Muller  in  his  second  series  of  lectures  on  language,1  wishes 
to  be  understood  as  offering  no  opposition  to  this  theory, 
although  for  the  present  c satisfied  with  considering  roots 
as  phonetic  types.5 

It  may  be  said,  and  said  truly,  that  other  classes  of 
ideas  are  not  so  easily  or  naturally  expressible  by  corre- 
sponding sounds ; and  that  abstract  terms  seldom  have  any 
such  obvious  derivation.  We  must  remember,  however, 
firstly,  that  abstract  terms  are  wanting  in  the  lowest 
languages,  and  secondly,  that  most  words  are  greatly  worn 
by  use,  and  altered  by  the  difference  of  pronunciation. 
Even  among  the  most  advanced  races  a few  centuries  suffice 
to  produce  a great  change ; how  then  can  we  expect  that 
any  roots  (excepting  those  which  are  preserved  from 
material  alteration  by  the  constant  suggestion  of  an  obvious 
fitness)  should  have  retained  their  original  sound  through- 
out the  immense  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  origin 


1 Loc.  cit.  p.  92. 


NICKNAMES  AND  SLANG  TEEMS.  283 

of  language?  Moreover  everyone  who  has  paid  any  atten- 
tion to  children,  or  schoolboys,  must  have  observed  how 
nicknames,  often  derived  from  slight  and  even  fanciful 
characteristics,  are  seized  on  and  soon  adopted  by  general 
consent.  Hence  even  if  root-words  had  remained  with 
little  alteration,  we  should  still  be  often  puzzled  to  account 
for  their  origin. 

Without,  then,  supposing  with  Farrar  that  all  our  root- 
words  have  originated  from  onomatopoeia,  I believe  that 
they  arose  in  the  same  way  as  the  nicknames  and  new 
slang  terms  of  our  own  day.  These  we  know  are  often 
selected  from  some  similarity  of  sound,  or  connection  of 
ideas,  often  so  quaint,  fanciful,  or  far-fetched,  that  we  are 
unable  to  recall  the  true  origin  even  of  words  which  have 
arisen  in  our  own  time.  How  then  can  we  wonder  that 
the  derivations  of  root-words  which  are  thousands  of  years 
old  should  be  in  so  many  cases  lost,  or  at  least  undeter- 
minable with  certainty. 

Again,  the  words  most  frequently  required,  and  especially 
those  used  by  children,  are  generally  represented  by  the 
simplest  and  easiest  sounds,  merely  because  they  are  the 
simplest.  Thus  in  Europe  we  have  papa  and  daddy, 
mamma,  and  baby ; poupee  for  a doll ; amme  for  a nurse, 
&e.  Some  authorities,  indeed,  have  derived  Pater  and 
Papa  from  a root  Pa  to  cherish,  and  Mater,  Mother,  from 
Ma  to  make  ; this  derivation  is  accepted  by  writers  repre- 
senting the  most  opposite  theories,  as  for  instance  by 
Penan,  Muller,  and  even  apparently  by  Farrar. 

Professor  Max  Muller  says  that  ‘ the  name  father  was 
coined  at  that  early  period,  shows  that  the  father  acknow- 
ledged the  offspring  of  his  wife  as  his  own,  for  thus  only 
had  he  a right  to  claim  the  title  of  father.  Father  is  de- 
rived from  a root  Pa,  which  means,  not  to  beget  but  to 
protect,  to  support,  to  nourish.  The  father,  as  genitor,  was 


284 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  TERMS 


called  in  Sanskrit  ganitar,  but  as  protector  and  supporter 
of  bis  offspring  he  was  called  pitar ; hence,  in  the  Yeda, 
these  two  names  are  used  together,  in  order  to  express  the 
full  idea  of  father.  Thus  the  poet  says : — 

Dyaus  me  peta  ganita 
J ovis  mei  pater  genitor 
Zevg  ij uov  Trarrjp  yeverrip. 

In  a similar  manner  matar,  mother,  is  joined  with 
ganitu,  genitrix,  which  shows  that  the  word  matar  must 
soon  have  lost  its  etymological  meaning,  and  have  become 
an  expression  of  respect  and  endearment.  For  among  the 
early  Arians,  matar  had  the  sense  of  maker,  from  Ma,  to 
fashion/ 1 

Now  let  us  see  what  are  the  names  for  father  and 
mother  among  some  other  races,  omitting  all  languages 
derived  from  Sanskrit. 


Language. 

AFRICA. 
Father . 

Mother . 

Bola  (N.  W.  Africa) 

Papa 

Ni 

Sarar 

Paba 

Ne 

Pepel 

Papa 

Nana 

Biafada 

Baba 

Na 

Baga 

Bapa 

Mana 

Timne 

Pa 

Kara 

Mandenga 

Fa 

Na 

Kabunga 

_ 5) 

Toronka 

D salmika 

Kankanka 

J? 

5) 

Bambara 

Ba 

Kono 

Nde 

Vei 

Ba 

Soso 

Fafe 

Nga 

Kisekise 

5) 

1 Comparative  Mythology.  Oxford  Essays,  1856,  p.  14. 


FATHER  AHD  MOTHER. 


285 


Language. 

Tene 

Dewoi  (Guinea) 

Basa 

Gbe 

Dahome 

Mahi 

Ota 

Egba 

Idsesa 

Yoruba 

Yagba 

Eki 

Dsumu 

Oworo 

Dsebu 

Ife 

Ondo 

Mose  (Higb  Sudan) 
Gurma 

Sobo  (Niger  District) 

Udso 

Nupe 

Kupa 

Esitako 

Musu 

Basa 

Opanda 

Igu_ 

Egbira 

Buduma  (Central  Africa) 

Bomu 

Munio 

Nguru 

Kanem 

Karebare 

Ngodsin 

Doai 

Basa 

Kamuku 

Songo  (S.  W.  Africa) 


Father. 

Mother. 

Eafa 

Nga 

Ba 

Ma 

Ne 

99 

De 

Da 

Noe 

„ also  Dadye 

99 

Baba 

lya 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

99 

Yeye 

99 

Ye 

Ba 

Ma 

5) 

Na 

Wawa 

Nene 

Dada 

Ayo 

Nda 

Nna 

Dada 

Mo 

Da 

Na 

Nda 

Meya 

Ba 

Nno 

Ada 

Onyi 

99 

Onya 

99 

99 

Bawa 

Ya 

Aba 

99 

Bawa 

99 

99 

lya 

Mba 

99 

Baba 

Nana 

99 

99 

99 

Aye 

Ada 

Am 

Baba 

Bina 

Papa 

Mama 

286  "WORDS  FOR  FATHER  AND  MOTHER 


Language. 

Father. 

Mother. 

Kiriman  (S.  E.  Africa) 

Baba 

Mma 

Bidsogo  (Unclassified  languages)  „ 

Ondsunei 

Wnn 

Omsion 

Gadsaga 

55 

Ma 

Gura 

Da 

Kye 

Banyun 

Aba 

Aai 

Kalu 

Baba 

Nya 

Bulanda 

m 

Limba 

Papa 

Ka 

Landoma 

Mama 

Barba 

Baba 

Inya 

Timbuktu 

55 

Nya 

Bagrmi 

Babi 

Kunyun 

Kadzina 

Baba 

Ua 

Timbo 

55 

Kene 

Salum 

55 

Yuma 

Goburu 

55 

Inna 

Kano 

55 

Ina 

Yala 

Ada 

Ene 

Dsarawa 

Tada 

Kga 

Koro 

Oda 

Ma 

Yasgua 

Ada 

* Ama 

Kambali 

Dada 

Omo 

Soa  (Arabic  group) 

Aba 

Aye 

Wadai 

Abba 

Omma 

NON-ARYAN  NATIONS 

OP  EUROPE 

AND  ASIA. 

Turkish 

Baba 

Ana 

Georgian 

Mama 

Deda 

Mantsbu 

Ama 

Erne 

Javanese 

Bapa 

Ibu 

Malay 

Bapa 

Ibu 

Syami  (Thibet) 

Dhada 

Ma 

Thibetan 

Pha 

Ama 

Serpa  (Kepal) 

Aba 

Ama 

Murmi  „ 

Apa 

Amma 

Pakhya  „ 

Babai 

Ama 

Lepcha  (Sikkim) 

Abo 

Amo 

Bhutani 

Appa 

Ai 

IN’  VARIOUS  LANGUAGES. 


287 


Language . 

Father . 

Mother. 

Dhimal  (N.  E.  Bengal) 

Aba 

Ama 

Kocch  * „ 

Bap 

Ma 

Garo  „ 

Aba 

Ama 

Burman  (Bur mail) 

Ahpa 

Ami 

Mru 

Pa 

An 

Sak 

Aba 

Anu 

Talain  (Siam) 

Ma 

Ya 

Ho  (Central  India) 

Appu 

Enga 

Santhali 

Baba 

Ayo 

Uraon  „ 

Babe 

Ayyo 

Gayeti  „ 

Baba 

Dai 

Khond 

Abba 

Ayya 

Tuluva  (Southern  India) 

Amme 

Appe 

Badaga  „ 

Appa 

Awe 

Irula  „ 

Amma 

Awe 

Cinghalese 

Appa 

Amma 

Chinese 

Eu 

Mu 

ISLANDERS. 

New  Zealand 

Pa-Matuatana 

Matua  wahina 

Tonga  Islands 

Tamny 

Fae 

Erroob  (N.  Australia) 

Bab 

Ama 

Lewis’  Murray  Island 

Baab 

Hammah 

AUSTRALIA. 

Jajowrong  (N.  W.  Australia) 

Marmook 

Barbook 

Knenkorenwurro  „ 

Marmak 

Barpanorook 

Burapper  „ 

Marmook 

Barbook 

Taungurong  „ 

Warredoo 

Barbanook 

Boraipar  (S.  Australia) 

Marmme 

Parppe 

Murrumbidgee 

< 

Kunny 

Mamma 

Western  Australia 

Mammun 

Ngangar 

Port  Lincoln 

Pappi 

Maitya 

ESQUIMAUX. 

Esquimaux  (Hudson’s  Bay) 

Atata 

Amama 

Tshuktchi  (Asia) 

Atta 

? 

288 


THE  WORDS  BA,  MA,  AND  PA, 


The  American  languages  seem  at  first  sight  opposed  to 
the  view  here  suggested ; on  close  examination,  however, 
this  is  not  the  case,  since  the  pronunciation  of  the  labials 
is  very  difficult  to  many  American  races.  Thus,  La  Hontan 
informs  us  that  the  Hurons  do  not  use  the  labials,  and 
that  he  spent  four  days  in  attempting  without  success  to 
teach  a Huron  to  pronounce  b,  p,  and  m.  Garcilasso  de 
la  Vega  tells  us  that  the  Peruvian  language  wanted  the 
letters  b,  d,  f,  g,  s,  and  x,  and  the  Indians  of  Port  au 
Franjais,  according  to  M.  Lamanon,  made  no  use  of  the 
consonants  b,  d,  f,  j,  p,  v,  or  x.1  Still  even  in  America  we 
find  some  cases  in  which  the  sounds  for  father  resemble 
those  so  general  elsewhere  ; thus 


Language. 

J Father. 

Mother. 

Costanos  (N.  W.  America) 

Ah  Pah 

Ah  nah 

Tahkali  „ 

Apa 

Tlatskanai  „ 

Mama 

Naa 

Nasqually  „ 

Baa 

Sogo 

Nootka  ,, 

Api 

Una 

Athapascans  (Canada) 

Appa 

Unnungcool 

Omahas  (Missouri) 

Dadai 

Eehong 

Minnetarees  „ 

Tantai 

Eeka 

Choctas  (Mississippi) 

Aunkke 

Iskeh 

Caribs 

Baba 

Bibi 

Uainamben  (Amazons) 

Pai 

Ami 

Cobeu  „ 

Ipaki 

Ipako 

Tucano  „ 

Pagui 

Maou 

Tariana  „ 

Paica 

J^aca 

Baniwa 

Padjo 

JSTadjo 

Barre 

Mbaba 

Memi 

Finding,  then,  that  the  easiest  sounds  which  a child  can 
produce  denote  father  and  mother  almost  all  over  the 
world ; remembering  that  the  root  ba  or  pa  indicates  baby 
as  well  as  father ; and  observing  that  in  some  cases  the 

i See  also  Gallatin,  in  Trans.  Am.  Antiq.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  63. 


THE  CHOICE  OP  ROOT-WORDS. 


289 


usual  sounds  are  reversed;  as  for  instance  in  Georgian, 
where  mama  stands  for  father,  and  dada  for  mother ; or  in 
Tuluva,  where  amme  is  father,  and  appe  mother ; or  some 
of  the  Australian  tribes,  in  which  combinations  of  the 
sound  mar  stands  for  father,  and  bar  for  mother ; we  must 
surely  admit  that  the  Sanskrit  verb  Pa,  to  protect,  comes 
from  pa,  father,  and  not  vice  versa. 

There  are  few  more  interesting  studies  than  the  steps 
by  which  our  present  language  has  been  derived  from 
these  original  roots.  This  subject  has  been  admirably 
dealt  with  by  my  friend  Professor  Max  Muller  in  his 
‘ Lectures  on  Language,’  and,  tempting  as  it  would  be  to  do 
so,  I do  not  propose  to  follow  him  into  that  part  of  the 
science.  As  regards  the  formation  of  the  original  roots, 
however,  he  declines  to  express  any  opinion.  Rejecting 
what  he  calls  the  pooh-pooh  and  bow-wow  theories 1 (though 
they  are  in  reality  but  one),  he  observes  that  ‘the  theory 
which  is  suggested  to  us  by  an  analysis  of  language  carried 
out  according  to  the  principles  of  comparative  philology  is 
the  very  opposite.  We  arrive  in  the  end  at  roots,  and 
every  one  of  these  expresses  a general,  not  an  individual 
idea.’  But  the  whole  question  is  how  were  these  roots 
chosen  ? How  did  particular  sounds  come  to  be  allotted 
to  particular  things  ? 

Here,  however,  Professor  Max  Muller  stops.  Nothing, 
he  admits,2  ‘would  be  more  interesting  than  to  know 
from  historical  documents  the  exact  process  by  which 
the  first  man  began  to  lisp  his  first  words,  and  thus  to  be 
rid  for  ever  of  all  the  theories  on  the  origin  of  speech. 
But  this  knowledge  is  denied  us;  and,  if  it  had  been 
otherwise,  we  should  probably  be  quite  unable  to  under- 
stand those  primitive  events  in  the  history  of  the  human 
mind.’ 


1 Science  of  Language,  p.  373. 


2 Loc . cit,  p.  346. 


290 


THE  CHOICE  CP  ROOT-WORDS. 


Yet  in  his  last  chapter  he  says,1  ‘ and  now  I am  afraid  I 
have  hut  a few  minutes  left  to  explain  the  last  question  of 
allin  our  science,namely — How  can  sound  express  thought  ? 
How  did  roots  become  the  signs  of  general  ideas  ? How 
was  the  abstract  idea  of  measuring  expressed  by  ma,  the 
idea  of  thinking  by  man?  How  did  ga  come  to  mean 
going,  stha  standing,  sad  sitting,  da  giving,  mar  dying, 
char  walking,  kar  doing?  I shall  try  to  answer  as  briefly 
as  possible.  The  400  or  500  roots  which  remain  as  the 
constituent  elements  in  different  families  of  language  are 
not  interjections,  nor  are  they  imitations.  They  are 
phonetic  types  produced  by  a power  inherent  in  human 
nature.  They  exist,  as  Plato  would  say,  by  nature ; though 
with  Plato  we  should  add  that,  when  we  say  by  nature, 
we  mean  by  the  hand  of  God.  There  is  a law  which  runs 
through  nearly  the  whole  of  nature,  that  everything  which 
is  struck  rings. 

, • • • • * 

‘ Man,  in  his  primitive  and  perfect  state,  was  not  only 
endowed,  like  the  brute,  with  the  power  of  expressing  his 
sensations  by  interjections,  and  his  perceptions  by  onoma- 
topoeia. He  possessed  likewise  the  faculty  of  giving 
more  articulate  expression  to  the  natural  conceptions  of 
his  mind.  That  faculty  was  not  of  his  making.  It  was 
an  instinct,  an  instinct  of  the  mind  as  irresistible  as  any 
other  instinct.  So  far  as  language  is  the  production  of 
that  instinct,  it  belongs  to  the  realm  of  nature. 

This  answer,  though  expressed  with  Professor  Max 
Muller’s  usual  eloquence,  does  not  carry  to  my  mind  any 
definite  conception.  On  the  other  hand,  it  appears  to 
me  that  at  any  rate  as  regards  some  roots,  we  have,  as 
already  pointed  out,  a satisfactory  explanation.  Professor 
Max  Muller, 2 indeed,  admits  that  ‘there  are  some  names, 

2 Science  of  Language,  p.  363. 


1 Loc.  cit.  p.  386. 


POVERTY  OF  SAVAGE  LANGUAGES. 


291 


such  as  cuckoo,  which  are  clearly  formed  by  an  imitation 
of  sound.  But/  he  adds,  ‘ words  of  this  kind  are,  like 
artificial  flowers,  without  a root.  They  are  sterile,  and 
are  unfit  to  express  anything  beyond  the  one  object  which 
they  imitate.  If  you  remember  the  variety  of  derivatives 
that  could  be  formed  from  the  root  spac,  to  see,  you  will  at 
once  perceive  the  difference  between  the  fabrication  of  such 
a word  as  cuckoo,  and  the  true  natural  growth  of  words.5 

It  has,  however,  been  already  shown  that  such  roots,  far 
from  being  sterile,  are  on  the  contrary  very  fruitful,  and 
we  must  remember  that  savage  languages  are  very  poor  in 
abstract  terms.  Indeed  the  vocabularies  of  the  various 
races  are  most  interesting  from  the  indications  which  they 
afford  with  reference  to  the  condition  of  those  by  whom 
they  are  used.  Thus  we  get  a melancholy  idea  of  the 
moral  state  and  family  life  of  tribes  which  are  deficient  ir 
terms  of  endearment.  Colonel  Dalton 1 tells  us  that  the 
Hos  of  Central  India  have  no  ‘ endearing  epithets.5  The 
Algonquin  language,  one  of  the  richest  in  North  America, 
contained  no  verb  6 to  love,5  and  when  Elliot  translated 
the  Bible  into  it  in  1661,  he  was  obliged  to  coin  a word 
for  the  purpose.  The  Tinne  Indians  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Bocky  Mountains  had  no  equivalent  for  ‘ dear 5 or  ‘ be- 
loved.5 c I endeavoured,5  says  General  Lefroy,  c to  put  this 
intelligibly  to  Nanette,  by  supposing  such  an  expression 
as  ma  chere  femme  $ ma  chere  fille.  When  at  length  she 
understood  it,  her  reply  was  (with  great  emphasis),  “I5 
disent  jamais  §a;  i5  disent  ma  femme,  ma  fille.55  5 The 
Kalmucks  and  some  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders  are  said  to 
have  had  no  word  for  6 thanks.5  Lichtenstein,2  speaking  of 
the  Bushmen,  mentions  it  as  a remarkable  instance  of  the 
total  absence  of  civilisation  among  them  that  ‘ they  have 

1 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.,  vol.  yi.  2 Vol.  i.  p.  119;  yol.  ii.  p.  49. 
p.  27. 


292 


DEFICIENCY  OF  TERMS  OF  AFFECTION. 


no  names,  and  seem  not  to  feel  the  want  o£  such  a means 
of  distinguishing  one  individual  from  another.5  Pliny1 
makes  a similar  statement  concerning  a race  in  Northern 
Africa.  Freycinet2  also  asserts  that  some  of  the  Australian 
tribes  did  not  name  their  women.,  I confess  that  I am 
inclined  to  doubt  these  statements,  and  to  refer  the 
supposed  absence  of  names  to  the  curious  superstitions 
already  referred  to  {ante,  p.  145),  and  which  make  savages 
so  reluctant  to  communicate  their  true  names  to  strangers. 
The  Brazilian  tribes,  according  to  Spix  and  Martius,  had 
separate  names  for  the  different  parts  of  the  body,  and  for 
all  the  different  animals  and  plants  with  which  they  were 
acquainted,  but  were  entirely  deficient  in  such  terms  as 
‘ color,5  c tone,5  ‘ sex,5  6 genus,5  spirit,5  &c. 

Bailey3  mentions  that  the  language  of  the  Yeddahs 
(Ceylon)  ‘ is  very  limited.  It  only  contains  such  phrases 
as  are  required  to  describe  the  most  striking  objects  of 
nature,  and  those  which  enter  into  the  daily  life  of  the 
people  themselves.  So  rude  and  primitive  is  their  dialect 
that  the  most  ordinary  objects  and  actions  of  life  are 
described  by  quaint  periphrases.5 

According  to  missionaries  the  Fuegians  had  c no  abstract 
terms.5  In  the  North  American  languages  a term  c suffi- 
ciently general  to  denote  an  oak-tree  is  exceptional.5  Thus 
the  Choctaw  language  has  names  for  the  black  oak,  white 
oak,  and  red  oak,  but  none  for  an  oak ; still  less  for  a tree. 

The  Tasmanians,  again,  had  no  general  term  for  a tree, 
though  they  had  names  for  each  particular  kind ; nor  could 
they  express  ‘ qualities  such  as  hard,  soft,  warm,  cold,  long, 
short,  round,5  &c. 

Speaking  of  the  Coroados  (Brazil),  Martius  observes 
that  ‘ it  would  be  in  vain  to  seek  among  them  words  for 

3 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  N.S.,  vol.  ii.  p. 
298;  see  also  p.  300. 


1 Nat.  His.,  1.  y.  s.  viii. 

2 Vol.  ii.  p.  749. 


ABSENCE  OP  ABSTRACT  TERMS. 


293 


tlie  abstract  ideas  of  plant,  animal,  and  tlie  still  more 
abstract  notions  colour,  tone,  sex,  species,  &c. ; such  a 
generalisation  of  ideas  is  found  among  them  only  in  the 
frequently  used  infinitive  of  the  verbs  to  walk,  to  eat,  to 
drink,  to  dance,  to  see,  to  hear,  &c.  They  have  no  con- 
ception of  the  general  powers  and  laws  of  nature,  and 
therefore  cannot  express  them  in  words/1 

There  is  perhaps  no  more  interesting  part  of  the  study 
of  language  than  that  which  concerns  the  system  of  nume- 
ration, nor  any  more  striking  proof  of  the  low  mental 
condition  of  many  savage  races  than  the  undoubted  fact 
that  they  are  unable  to  count  their  own  fingers,  even  of 
one  hand. 

According  to  Lichtenstein  the  Bushmen  could  not  count 
beyond  two ; Spix  and  Martins  make  the  same  statement 
about  the  Brazilian  Wood-Indians.  The  Cape  Yorkers  of 
Australia  count  as  follows  : — 


Speaking  of  the  Lower  Murray  nations  Mr.  Beveridge 
says,  6 their  numerals  are  confined  to  two  alone,  viz.  ryup, 
politi,  the  first  signifying  u one55  and  the  second  “ two.”  To 
express  five,  thay  say  ryup  murnangin,  or  one  hand,  and  to 
express  ten,  politi  murnangin,  or  two  hands/  2 Indeed,  no 
Australian  can  go  beyond  four,  their  term  for  five  simply 
implying  a large  number.  The  Dammaras,  according  to 
Galton,  used  no  term  beyond  three.  He  gives  so  admirable 
and  at  the  same  time  so  amusing  an  account  of  Dammara 

1 Spix  and  Martius,  Travels  in  Brazil,  2 Trans,  of  the  R.  S.  of  Victoria,  vol. 

vol.  ii.  p.  253.  vi.  p.  151. 


One 

Two 

Three 

Four 

Five 

Six 


Yet  at. 

Yaes. 

Yaes-netat. 

Yaes-naes. 

Yaes-naes-netat. 

Yaes-naes-naes. 


294 


DEFICIENCY  IN  NUMERALS. 


difficulties  in  language  and  arithmetic  that  I cannot  resist 
quoting  it  in  full.  ‘ We  had/  he  says/  6 to  trust  to  our 
Dammara  guides,  whose  ideas  of  time  and  distance  were 
most  provokingly  indistinct ; besides  this  they  have  no 
comparative  in  their  language,  so  that  you  cannot  say  to 
them,  “ which  is  the  longer  of  the  two,  the  next  stage  or 
the  last  one  ? ” but  you  must  say,  “ the  last  is  little ; the 
next  is  it  great  ? ” The  reply  is  not,  it  is  a “ little  longer,” 
or  “very  much  longer,”  but  simply,  “it  is  so,”  or  “it  is  not 
so.”  They  have  a very  poor  notion  of  time.  If  you  say 
“ suppose  we  start  at  sunrise,  where  will  the  sun  be  when 
we  arrive?”  they  make  the  wildest  points  in  the  sky, 
though  they  are  something  of  astronomers,  and  give  names 
to  several  stars.  They  have  no  way  of  distinguishing  days, 
but  reckon  by  the  rainy  season,  or  the  pig-nut  season. 
When  inquiries  are  made  about  how  many  days’  journey 
off  a place  may  be,  their  ignorance  of  all  numerical  ideas 
is  very  annoying.  In  practice,  whatever  they  may  possess 
in  their  language,  they  certainly  use  no  numeral  greater 
than  three.  When  they  wish  to  express  four,  they  take  to 
their  fingers,  which  are  to  them  as  formidable  instruments 
of  calculation  as  a sliding  rule  is  to  an  English  school-boy. 
They  puzzle  very  much  after  five,  because  no  spare  hand 
remains  to  grasp  and  secure  the  fingers  that  are  required 
for  units.  Yet  they  seldom  lose  oxen  ; the  way  in  which 
they  discover  the  loss  of  one  is  not  by  the  number  of  the 
herd  being  diminished,  but  by  the  absence  of  a face  they  i 
know.  When  bartering  is  going  on,  each  sheep  must  be  J 
paid  for  separately.  Thus,  suppose  two  sticks  of  tobacco 
to  be  the  rate  of  exchange  for  one  sheep,  it  would  sorely 
puzzle  a Dammara  to  take  two  sheep  and  give  him  four  | 
sticks.  I have  done  so,  and  seen  a man  put  two  of  the 


Galton,  Tropical  South  Africa,  p.  132. 


SAVAGE  DIFFICULTIES  IE"  ARITHMETIC. 


295 


sticks  apart,  and  take  a sight  over  them  at  one  of  the 
sheep  he  was  about  to  sell.  Having  satisfied  himself  that 
that  one  was  honestly  paid  for  and  finding  to  his  surprise 
that  exactly  two  sticks  remained  in  hand  to  settle  the 
account  for  the  other  sheep,  he  would  be  afflicted  with 
doubts  ; the  transaction  seemed  to  come  out  too  “ pat 55  to 
be  correct,  and  he  would  refer  back  to  the  first  couple  of 
sticks  5 and  then  his  mind  got  hazy  and  confused,  and 
wandered  from  one  sheep  to  the  other,  and  he  broke  off 
the  transaction  until  two  sticks  were  put  into  his  hand, 
and  one  sheep  driven  away,  and  then  the  other  two  sticks 
given  him,  and  the  second  sheep  driven  away.  When  a 
Dammara’s  mind  is  bent  upon  number,  it  is  too  much 
occupied  to  dwell  upon  quantity ; thus  a heifer  is  bought 
from  a man  for  ten  sticks  of  tobacco,  his  large  hands 
being  both  spread  out  upon  the  ground,  and  a stick  placed 
upon  each  finger.  He  gathers  up  the  tobacco,  the  size  of 
the  mass  pleases  him,  and  the  bargain  is  struck.  You  then 
want  to  buy  a second  heifer ; the  same  process  is  gone 
through,  but  half  sticks  instead  of  whole  sticks  are  put 
upon  his  fingers ; the  man  is  equally  satisfied  at  the  time, 
but  occasionally  finds  it  out,  and  complains  the  next  day. 

4 Once  while  I watched  a Dammara  floundering  hope- 
lessly in  a calculation  on  one  side  of  me,  I observed  Dinah, 
my  spaniel,  equally  embarrassed  on  the  other.  She  was 
overlooking  half-a-dozen  of  her  new-born  puppies,  which 
had  been  removed  two  or  three  times  from  her,  and  her 
anxiety  was  excessive,  as  she  tried  to  find  out  if  they  were 
all  present,  or  if  any  were  still  missing.  She  kept  puzzling 
and  running  her  eyes  over  them,  backwards  and  forwards, 
but  could  not  satisfy  herself.  She  evidently  had  a vague 
notion  of  counting,  but  the  figure  was  too  large  for  her 
brain.  Taking  the  two  as  they  stood,  dog  and  Dammara, 
the  comparison  reflected  no  great  honour  on  the  man.5 


296  USE  OF  THE  FINGERS  IN  ARITHMETIC, 

All  over  the  world  the  fingers  are  used  as  counters,  and 
although  the  numerals  of  most  races  are  so  worn  down  by 
use  that  we  can  no  longer  detect  their  original  meaning, 
there  are  many  savage  tribes  in  which  the  words  used 
are  merely  the  verbal  expressions  of  the  signs  used  in 
counting  with  the  fingers. 

Of  this  I have  just  given  one  instance.  In  Labrador 
‘Tallek,5  a hand,  means  also  ‘five,5  and  the  term  for 
twenty  means  hands  and  feet  together.  Speaking  of 
the  Ahts,  Mr.  Sproat1  says,  ‘it  may  be  noticed  that 
their  word  for  one  occurs  again  in  that  for  six  and 
nine,  and  the  word  for  two  in  that  for  seven  and  eight. 
The  Aht  Indians  count  upon  their  fingers.  They  always 
count,  except  where  they  have  learnt  differently  from  their 
contact  with  civilisation,  by  raising  the  hands  with  the 
palms  upwards,  and  extending  all  the  fingers,  and  bending 
down  each  finger  as  it  is  used  for  enumeration.  They  begin 
with  the  little  finger.  This  little  finger,  then,  is  one. 
Now  six  is  five  (that  is,  one  whole  hand)  and  one  more. 
We  can  easily  see  then,  why  their  word  for  six  compre- 
hends the  word  for  one.  Again,  seven  is  five  (one  whole 
hand)  and  two  more — thus  their  word  for  seven  compre- 
hends the  word  for  two.  Again,  when  they  have  bent  down 
the  eighth  finger,  the  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  hand 
is  that  two  fingers,  that  is,  a finger  and  a thumb,  remain 
extended.  Now  the  Aht  word  for  eight  comprehends  atlah, 
the  word  for  two.  The  reason  for  this  I imagine  to  be  as 
follows  : — Eight  is  ten  (or  the  whole  hands)  wanting  two. 
Again,  when  the  ninth  finger  is  down,  only  one  finger  is 
left  extended.  Their  word  for  nine  comprehends  tsow- 
wauk,  the  word  for  one.  Nine  is  ten  (or  two  whole  hands) 
wanting  one.5  2 

1 Scenes  and  Studies  of  Savsge  Life,  2 Scenes  and  Studies  of  Savage  Life’ 

p.  121.  p.  121-122. 


AS  SHOW  IN  THE  NAMES  OP  NUMERALS.  297 

The  Zamuca  and  Muysca  Indians 1 have  a cumbrous,  but 
very  interesting  system  of  numeration.  For  five  they  say, 
‘ hand  finished.’  For  six,  ‘one  of  the  other  hand,’  that 
is  to  say  take  a finger  of  the  other  hand ; for  ten  they  say, 
‘ two  hands  finished,’  or  sometimes  more  simply  ‘ quicha,’ 
that  is  ‘foot.’  Eleven  is  foot-one;  twelve,  foot-two, 
thirteen,  foot-three,  and  so  on : twenty  is  the  feet  finished  ; 
or  in  other  cases  ‘ Man,’  because  a man  has  ten  fingers  and 
ten  toes,  thus  making  twenty. 

Among  the  Jaruroes  the  word  for  forty  is  ‘noenipume,’ 
i.e.  two  men,  from  noeni,  two,  and  canipune,  men.  Hence, 
no  doubt,  the  prevalence  of  the  decimal  system  in  arithme- 
tic ; it  has  no  particular  advantage ; indeed,  either  eight 
or  twelve  would,  in  some  respects  have  been  more  con- 
venient ; eight,  because  you  can  divide  it  by  two,  and  then 
divide  the  result  again  by  two ; and  twelve  because  it  is 
divisible  by  six,  four,  three,  and  two.  Ten,  however,  has 
naturally  been  selected,  because  we  have  ten  fingers. 

Speaking  of  the  Guiana  natives,  Mr.  Brett  observes2 
that,  ‘ Another  point  in  which  the  different  nations  agree 
is  their  method  of  numeration.  The  first  four  numbers  are 
represented  by  simple  words,  as  in  the  table  above  given. 
Five  is  “ my  one  hand,”  abar-dakabo  in  Arawak.  Then 
comes  a repetition,  abar  timen,  biam  timen,  &c.,  up  to  nine. 
Biam-dahabo,  “ my  two  hands,”  is  ten.  From  ten  to  twenty 
they  use  the  toes  (kuti  or  olcuti),  as  abar-huti-bana, 
“ eleven,”  biam-huti-bana,  “ twelve,”  &c.  They  call  twenty 
abar-loJco,  one  lolco  or  man.  They  then  proceed  by  men  or 
scores ; thus  forty-five  is  laboriously  expressed  by  biam- 
loJco-abardahabo  tajeago,  “ two  men  and  one  hand  upon  it.” 
For  higher  numbers  they  have  now  recourse  to  our  words, 
hundred  and  thousand .’  So  also  among  the  Caribs,  the  word 

' Humboldt’s  Personal  Researches,  2 Brett’s  Indian  Tribes  of  Guiana, 
vol.  ii.  p.  117.  p.  417. 


14 


298 


USE  OP  THE  FINGERS  IN  ARITHMETIC. 


for  6 ten/  Chonnoucabo  raim,  meant  literally  ‘ the  fingers 
of  both  hands ; ’ and  that  for  ‘ twenty 5 was  Chonnougouci 
raim,  i.e.  the  fingers  and  toes.1 

The  Coroados2 *  generally  connt  only  by  the  joints  of  the 
fingers,  consequently  only  to  three.  Every  greater  number 
they  express  by  the  word  ‘ mony/ 

According  to  DobritzhofFer  c the  Guaranies  when  ques- 
tioned respecting  a thing  exceeding  four,  immediately 
reply  ndipapahabi,  or  ndipapahai,  innumerable.5  3 So  also 
‘ the  Abipones 4 can  only  express  three  numbers  in  proper 
words.  Initdra , one,  Inoaka , two,  Inoaka  yekaini , three. 
They  make  up  for  the  other  numbers  by  various  arts; 
thus,  geyenk  nate , the  fingers  of  an  emu,  which,  as  it  has 
three  in  front  and  one  turned  back,  are  four,  serves  to 
express  that  number : neenhalek , a beautiful  skin  spotted 
with  five  different  colours,  is  used  to  signify  the  number 
five/  6 Hanambegem , the  fingers  of  one  hand,  means  five  : 
lanam  rihegem , the  fingers  of  both  hands,  ten ; landm 
rihegem , cat  gracherhaka  anamichirihegem , the  fingers  of 
both  hands  and  both  feet,  twenty/ 

Among  the  Malays  and  throughout  Polynesia  the  word 
for  five  is  ima,  lima,  or  rima.  In  Bali,  lima  also  means  a 
hand ; this  is  also  the  case  in  the  Bugis,  Mandhar,  and 
Ende  languages ; in  the  Makasar  dialect  it  is  liman ; in 
Sasak  it  is  ima ; in  Bima  it  is  rima ; in  Sembawa  it  is 
limang.5 

In  the  Mpongwe  language  ‘ tyani  5 or  c tani 5 is  five, 
6 ntyame 5 is  6 hand/  6 The  Koossa  Caffres  make  little  use 
of  numerals.  Lichtenstein  could  never  discover  that 

1 Tertre’s  History  of  the  Caribby  4 Loc.  cit.  p.  169. 

Islands.  5 Raffles’s  History  of  Java,  Appen- 

2 Spix  and  Martius,  Travels  in  Brazil,  dix  F. 

vol.  ii.  p.  255.  6 Grammar  of  the  Mpongwe  Lan- 

? History  of  the  Abipones,  vol.  ii.  p.  guage.  New  York,  Snowden  andPrall, 
171.  1847. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DECIMAL  SYSTEM.  299 

tliey  had  any  word  for  eight,  few  could  reckon  beyond  ten, 
and  many  did  not  know  the  names  of  any  numerals.  Yet 
if  a single  animal  was  missing  out  of  a herd  of  several 
hundred,  they  observed  it  immediately.1  This,  however,  as 
Mr.  Galton  explains,  is  merely  because  they  miss  a face 
they  know.  Among  the  Zulu  ‘ talitisupa  ’ six,  means 
literally  ‘ take  the  thumb,’  i.c.  having  used  the  finger  of 
one  hand,  take  the  thumb  of  the  next.  ‘ The  numbers,’ 
says  Lichtenstein,  ‘ are  commonly  expressed  among  the 
Beetjuans  by  fingers  held  up,  so  that  the  word  is  rarely 
spoken  ; many  are  even  unacquainted  with  these  numerals 
and  never  employ  anything  but  the  sign.  It  therefore 
occasioned  me  no  small  trouble  to  learn  the  numerals, 
and  I could  by  no  means  arrive  at  any  denomination  for 
the  numbers  five  and  nine.  Beyond  ten  even  the  most 
learned  could  not  reckon,  nor  could  I make  out  by  what 
signs  they  ever  designated  these  higher  numbers.’ 2 

Even  in  our  own  language  the  word  ‘ five  ’ has  a simi- 
lar origin,  since  it  comes  from  the  Greek  7 tsvts,  which 
again  is  evidently  connected  with  the  Persian  pendji ; now 
in  Persian  ‘pentcha,’  means  a hand,  as  Humboldt  has 
already  pointed  out.3 

These  examples  appear  to  me  very  instructive ; we  seem 
as  it  were  to  trace  up  the  formation  of  the  numerals ; we 
perceive  the  true  cause  of  the  decimal  system  of  notation ; 
and  we  obtain  interesting  if  melancholy,  evidence  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  faculty  of  thought  lies  dormant  among 
the  lower  races  of  man. 

1 Lichtenstein,  vol.  i.  p.  280.  See  3 Personal  Researches,  London, 

also  App.  1814,  vol.  ii.  p.  116. 

2 Loc.  tit.  yoI.  ii.  App. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


LAWS. 

THE  customs  and  laws  of  the  lower  races,  so  far  as  re- 
ligions and  family  relations  are  concerned,  have 
already  been  discussed.  There  are,  however,  some  other 
points  of  view  with  reference  to  which  it  seems  desirable 
to  make  some  remarks.  The  progress  and  development  of 
law  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  interesting  as  well  as  import- 
tant  sections  of  human  history.  It  is  far  less  essential,  as 
Goguet1  truly  observes,  ‘de  savoir  le  nombre  des  dynasties 
et  les  noms  des  souverains  qui  les  composoient;  mais  il 
est  essentiel  de  conuoitre  les  loix,  les  arts,  les  sciences  et 
les  usages  d’une  nation  que  toute  Pantiquite  a regardee 
comme  un  modele  de  sagesse  et  de  vertu.  Voilales  objets 
que  je  me  suis  proposes,  et  que  je  vais  traiter  avec  le  plus 
d’exactitude  qu’il  me  sera  possible.’  It  is,  however,  im- 
possible thoroughly  to  understand  the  laws  of  the  most 
advanced  nations,  unless  we  take  into  consideration  those 
customs  of  ruder  communities  from  which  they  took  their 
origin,  by  which  they  are  so  profoundly  influenced. 

The  subject  is,  moreover,  of  peculiar  importance  to  us, 
forming  as  we  do  part  of  a great  and  composite  empire. 

It  is,  therefore,  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  are 
not  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  laws  and  customs 
of  savage  races.  At  the  time  Goguet  published  his  cele- 


De  l’Origine  des  Loix,  des  Arts  et  des  Sciences,  vol.  i.  p.  45. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 


301 


brated  work,  our  knowledge  was  even  more  defective  than 
is  now  the  case. 

Still  I am  surprised  that  with  the  evidence  which  was 
before  him,  and  especially  as  he  was  one  of  the  first  to 
point  out  that  much  light  is  thrown  by  the  condition 
of  modern  savages  on  that  of  our  ancestors  in  times  now 
long  gone  by,1 *  he  should  have  regarded  the  monarchical 
form  of  government  as  the  most  ancient  and  most  univer- 
sally established.2  ( C’est,  sans  contredit,’  be  says,  ‘ le  plus 
anciennement  et  le  plus  universellement  etabli.’ 

A more  careful  consideration  of  the  evidence  afforded  by 
the  lower  races  of  man  would  probably  have  modified  his 
views  on  some  other  points.  For  instance,3  he  observes  that 
6 il  n’est  pas  difficile  de  faire  sentir  par  quelles  raisons  le 
gouvernement  monarchique  est  le  premier  dont  l’idee  a du 
se  presenter.  II  etoit  plus  aise  aux  peuples,  lorsqu’ils  ont 
pense  a etablir  1’ordre  dans  la  societe,  de  se  rassembler 
sous  un  seul  chef,  que  sous  plusieurs:  la  royaute  est 
d’ailleurs  une  image  de  Tautorite  que  les  peres  avoient 
originairement  sur  leurs  enfants : ils  etoient  dans  ces 
premiers  terns  les  chefs  et  les  legislateurs  de  leur  famiHe.’ 

Whereas  it  has  been  already  shown  in  the  earlier 
chapters  of  this  work  that  the  family  is  by  no  means  so 
perfectly  organised  among  the  lowest  races. 


1  M.  Goguet  remarks  that  some 
races,  being  ignorant  of  the  art  of 
■writing,  even  now,  * pour  constater 
leurs  ventes,  leurs  achats,  leurs,  em- 
prunts,  etc.,  emploient  certains  mor- 
ceaux  de  hois  entailles  diversement. 
On  les  coupe  en  deux : le  creancier  en 
garde  unemoitie,  et  le  debiteur  retient 
1’ autre.  Quand  la  dette  ou  la  promesse 
est  acquittee,  chacun  remet  le  morceau 
qu’il  avoit  par  devers  lui  ’ (p.  26). 

This  method  of  keeping  accounts  is 

not  confined  to  savage  races.  It  was 


practised  by  the  English  Government 
down  to  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century,  and  I myself  possess 
such  a receipt  given  by  the  English 
Government  to  the  East  India  Com- 
pany in  the  year  1770,  and  duly  pre- 
served in  the  India  House,  until  within 
the  last  ten  years.  It  represents 
24,000/.,  represented  by  twenty-four 
equal  notches  in  a rod  of  wood. 

2 Loc.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  9. 

3 Loc . cit.  p.  10. 


302 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE 


Sir  G.  Grey,1  speaking  of  the  Australians,  truly  says  that 
the  6 laws  of  this  people  are  unfitted  for  the  government  of 
a single  isolated  family,  some  of  them  being  only  adapted 
for  the  regulation  of  an  assemblage  of  families ; they  could, 
therefore,  not  have  been  a series  of  rules  given  by  the  first 
father  to  his  children : again,  they  could  not  have  been 
rules  given  by  an  assembly  of  the  first  fathers  to  their 
children,  for  there  are  these  remarkable  features  about 
them,  that  some  are  of  such  a nature  as  to  compel  those 
subject  to  them  to  remain  in  a state  of  barbarism.5 

Again  Goguet 2 states  that  ‘ les  loix  du  mariage  ont  mis 
un  frein  a une  passion  qui  n5en  voudroit  reconnoitre  aucun. 
Elies  ont  fait  plus  : en  determinant  les  degres  de  consan- 
guinity qui  rendent  les  alliances  illegitimes,  elles  ont  appris 
aux  homines  a connoitre  et  a respecter  les  droits  de  la 
nature.  Ce  sont  ces  loix  enfin  qui,  en  constatant  la  condi- 
tion des  enfans,  ont  assure  des  citoyens  a l’Etat,  et  donne 
aux  societes  une  forme  fixe  et  assuree,5  which  is  very  far  from 
being  the  case.  I have  already  observed  (ante,  p.  2)  that 
even  Mr.  Maine  would  doubtless  have  modified  in  some 
points  the  views  expressed  in  his  excellent  work,3  if  he  had 
paid  more  attention  to  the  manners,  customs,  and  laws  of 
savages.  But,  although  the  progress  and  development  of 
law  belong,  for  the  most  part,  to  a more  advanced  stage  of 
human  society  than  that  which  is  the  subject  of  this  work, 
still,  in  one  sense,  as  already  mentioned,  even  the  lowest 
races  of  savages  have  laws.  Nay,  every  action  of  their 
lives  is  regulated  by  numerous  rules,  none  the  less  strin- 
gent because  unwritten.  Thus  Mr.  Lang,  speaking  of  the 
Australians,4  tells  us  that  ‘instead  of  enjoying  perfect 
persona]  freedom,  as  it  would  at  first  appear,  they  are 

1 Grey’s  Australia,  vol.  ii.  p.  222.  4 Aborigines  of  Australia,  p.  7.  Eyre, 

2 Loc.  cit.  p.  20.  loc.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  385. 

* Ancient  Law. 


LAWS  OF  SAVAGES. 


303 


governed  by  a code  of  rules  and  a set  of  customs  which 
form  one  of  the  most  cruel  tyrannies  that  has  ever,  perhaps, 
existed- on  the  face  of  the  earth,  subjecting  not  only  the 
will,  but  the  property  and  life  of  the  weak  to  the  dominion 
of  the  strong.  The  whole  tendency  of  the  system  is  to 
give  everything  to  the  strong  and  old,  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  weak  and  young,  and  more  particularly  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  women.  They  have  rules  by  which  the  best 
food,  the  best  pieces,  the  best  animals,  &c.,  are  prohibited 
to  the  women  and  young  men,  and  reserved  for  the  old. 
The  women  are  generally  appropriated  to  the  old  and 
powerful,  some  of  whom  possess  from  four  to  seven  wives ; 
while  wives  are  altogether  denied  to  young  men,  unless 
they  have  sisters  to  give  in  exchange,  and  are  strong  and 
courageous  enough  to  prevent  their  sisters  from  being 
taken  without  exchange.’ 

This  is  no  peculiar  case.  No  savage  is  free.  All  over 
the  world  his  daily  life  is  regulated  by  a complicated  and 
apparently  most  inconvenient  set  of  customs  (as  forcible  as 
fawTs),  of  quaint  prohibitions  and  privileges;  the  prohibi- 
tions as  a general  rule  applying  to  the  women,  and  the 
privileges  to  the  men. 

‘ To  believe,’  says  Sir  G.  Grey,1  ‘ that  man  in  a savage 
state  is  endowed  with  freedom,  either  of  thought  or  action, 
is  erroneous  in  the  highest  degree.’ 

In  Tahiti,2  ‘ the  men  were  allowed  to  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
pig,  and  of  fowls,  and  a variety  of  fish,  cocoa-nuts,  and 
plantains,  and  whatever -was  presented  as  an  offering  to 
the  gods,  which  the  females,  on  pain  of  death,  were  for- 
bidden to  touch,  as  it  was  supposed  they  would  pollute 
them.  The  fires  on  which  the  men’s  food  was  cooked,  were 
also  sacred,  and  were  forbidden  to  be  used  by  the  females. 

4 Grey’s  Australia,  y-oL  ii.  p„  217.  2 Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  222. 


304  THE  MULTIPLICITY  OP  LAWS  AMONG  SAVAGES. 

The  baskets  in  which  their  provisions  were  kept,  and  the 
house  in  which  the  men  ate,  were  also  sacred,  and  pro- 
hibited to  the  females  under  the  same  cruel  penalty  ; hence 
the  inferior  food,  both  for  wives,  daughters,  &c.,  was 
cooked  at  separate  fires,  deposited  in  distinct  baskets, 
and  eaten  in  lonely  solitude  by  the  females,  in  little  huts 
erected  for  the  purpose/ 

‘ Nothing,5  says  the  Bishop  of  Wellington,  e can  be  more 
mistaken  than  to  represent  the  New  Zealanders  as  a people 
without  law  and  order.  They  are,  and  were,  the  slaves  of 
law,  rule,  and  precedent.5 1 

If  savages  pass  unnoticed  many  actions  which  we  should 
consider  as  highly  criminal,  on  the  other  hand  they  strictly 
forbid  others  which  we  should  consider  altogether  im- 
material. 

The  natives  of  Russian  America,  near  the  Yukon  river, 
‘ have  certain  superstitions  with  regard  to  the  bones  of 
animals,  which  they  will  neither  throw  on  the  fire  nor  to 
the  dogs,  but  save  them  in  their  houses  or  caches.  When 
they  saw  us  careless  in  such  matters,  they  said  it  would 
prevent  them  from  catching  or  shooting  successfully. 
Also,  they  will  not  throw  away  their  hair  or  nails  just  cut 
short,  but  save  them,  hanging  them  frequently  in  packages 
on  the  trees.5 

The  Mongols  3 think  it  a fault  with  a knife  to  touch  the 
fire,  or  take  flesh  out  of  the  pot ; or  to  cleave  wood  with  a 
hatchet  near  the  hearth,  imagining  it  takes  away  the  fire’s 
power.  It  is  no  less  faulty  to  lean  on  a whip,  or  touch 
arrows  with  it ; to  kill  young  birds ; or  pour  liquor  on  the 
ground:  to  strike  a horse  with  the  bridle;  or  break  one  bone 
against  another.  Mr.  Tylor  has  already  pointed  out 4 that 
almost  exactly  the  same  prohibitions  occur  in  America. 

1 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  367.  8 Astley’s  Coll.,  vol.  iv.  p.  548. 

Whymper,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.,N.S.  4 Early  History  of  Man,  p.  136. 

vol,  vii.  p.  174. 


RULES  RELATING  TO  HUNTING.  305 

Some  of  these  rules  are  very  sensible.  Thus  Tanner 
states  that  the  Algonkin  Indians,  when  on  a war-path, 
must  not  sit  upon  the  naked  ground ; but  must,  at  least, 
have  some  grass  or  bushes  under  them.  They  must,  if 
possible,  avoid  wetting  their  feet ; but  if  they  are  com- 
pelled to  wade  through  a swamp,  or  to  cross  a stream,  they 
must  keep  their  clothes  dry,  and  whip  their  legs  with 
bushes  or  grass,  when  they  come  out  of  the  water.’ 1 Tor 
others  the  reason  is  not  so  obvious.  Thus  the  small  bowls 
out  of  which  they  drink  are  marked  across  the  middle, 
in  going  out  they  must  place  one  side  to  their  mouth ; in 
returning,  the  other.  The  vessels  must  also  on  their 
return  be  thrown  away,  or  hung  up  in  a tree. 

Hunting  tribes  generally  have  rules,  well  understood, 
with  reference  to  game.  Thus  among  the  Greenlanders, 
should  a seal  escape  with  a hunter’s  javelin  in  it,  and  be 
killed  by  another  man  afterwards,  it  belongs  to  the  former. 
But  if  the  seal  is  struck  with  the  harpoon  and  bladder,  and 
the  string  breaks,  the  hunter  loses  his  right.  If  a man 
finds  a seal  dead  with  a harpoon  in  it,  he  keeps  the  seal 
but  returns  the  harpoon.  In  reindeer  hunting,  if  several 
hunters  strike  a deer  together,  it  belongs  to  the  one  whose 
arrow  is  nearest  the  heart.  The  arrows  are  all  marked,  so 
that  no  dispute  can  arise,  but  since  guns  have  been  intro- 
duced, many  quarrels  have  taken  place.  Any  man  who 
finds  a piece  of  drift  wood  (which  in  the  far  North  is  ex- 
tremely valuable),  can  appropriate  it  by  placing  a stone  on 
it,  as  a sign  that  some  one  has  taken  possession  of  it.  No 
other  Greenlander  will  then  touch  it. 

Again,  far  from  being  informal  or  extemporary,  the 
salutations,  ceremonies,  treaties,  and  contracts  of  savages 
are  characterised  by  the  very  opposite  qualities. 

Eyre  mentions  that  in  Australia  ‘ in  their  intercourse 

1 Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  123. 


306 


SALUTATIONS  AND  CEREMONIES. 


with  each  other,  natives  of  different  tribes  are  exceedingly 
punctilious.  5 1 

Mariner  gives  a long  account  of  the  elaborate  ceremonies 
practised  by  the  Tongans,  and  of  their  regard  for  rank.5  * 

Thus  the  king  3 was  by  no  means  of  the  highest  rank. 
The  Tooitonga,  Veachi,  and  several  others  preceded  him. 
Indeed  the  name  Tooitonga  means  King  of  Tonga ; the 
office,  however,  was  wholly  of  a religious  character : the 
Tooitonga  being  regarded  as  descended  from  the  gods,  if 
not  a deity  himself.  He  was  so  sacred  that  some  words 
were  retained  for  his  exclusive  use. 

Below  Tooitonga  and  Yeachi  came  the  priests,  while 
civil  society  was  divided  into  five  ranks,  the  king,  the 
nobles,  the  Matabooles,  the  Mooas,  and  the  Tooas.  The 
child  took  the  rank  of  the  mother  among  the  nobles,  but 
the  Matabooles  were  succeeded  by  the  eldest  son. 

It  is  curious  that  the  use  of  the  third  person  in  token  of 
respect  occurs  in  Tonga,  as  well  as  some  other  countries. 

Thus  the  King  of  Tonga  addressing  the  Tooitonga  says, 

“ Ho  egi  Tooitonga,55  that  is,  literally,  thy  Lord  Tooi- 
tonga, in  which  the  possessive  pronoun  thy,  or  your,  is 
used  instead  of  my : or,  if  the  word  egi  be  translated  lord- 
ship,  or  chiefship,  the  term  of  address  will  be  more  con- 
sistent and  similar  to  ours,  your  lordship,  your  grace,  your 
majesty.  The  title,  ho  egi,  is  never  used  but  in  addressing 
a superior  chief,  or  speaking  of  a god,  or  in  a public  j 
speech.  Ho  egi ! also  means  chiefs,  as  in  the  commence- 
ment of  Finow’s  speech.54 

The  Egbas,  a negro  race  of  West  Africa,  who  are,  says 
Burton,5  ‘ gifted  with  uncommon  loquacity  and  spare  time, 
have  invented  a variety  of  salutations  and  counter-saluta- 

1 Discoveries  in  Australia,  vol.  ii.  3 Loc.  citK  vol.  ii.  p.  79. 

p.  214.  4 Mariner,  vol.  ii.  p.  142. 

2 Tonga  Islands,  vol.  ii.  pp.  185, 199,  5 Burton,  Abbeokuta,  vol.  i.  p.  113. 

207. 


SALUTATIONS  AND  CEREMONIES. 


307 


lions  applicable  to  every  possible  occasion.  For  instance, 
Oji  re,  did  you  wake  well  ? Akwaro,  good  morning  ! 
Akuasan,  good  day ! Akwale,  good  evening ! Akware,  to 
one  tired.  Akushe,  to  one  at  work.  Akurin  (from  rin, 
to  walk),  to  a traveller.  Akule,  to  one  in  the  house. 
Akwatijo,  after  a long  absence.  Akwalejo,  to  a stranger. 
Akurajo,  to  one  in  distress.  Akujiko,  to  one  sitting. 
Akudaro  to  one  standing.  Akufa,  to  one  selling.  Wolebe 
(be  careful)  to  one  met,  and  so  forth.  The  servile  shash- 
tanga  or  postration  of  the  Hindus  is  also  a universal  custom. 
It  is  performed  in  different  ways ; the  most  general  is, 
after  depositing  the  burden,  and  clapping  hands  once, 
twice,  or  thrice,  to  go  on  all-fours,  touch  the  ground  with 
the  belly  and  breast,  the  forehead,  and  both  sides  of  the 
face  successively ; kiss  the  earth,  half  rise  up,  then  pass 
the  left  over  the  right  forearm,  and  vice  versa , and  finally, 
after  again  saluting  mother  Hertha,  to  stand  erect.  The 
inferior  prostrates  to  the  superior,  the  son  to  the  mother, 
the  younger  to  the  elder  brother,  and  I have  been  obliged 
to  correct  a Moslem  boy  of  the  evil  practice  of  assuming  a 
position  in  which  man  should  address  none  but  his  Maker. 
The  performance  usually  takes  place  once  a day  on  first 
meeting,  but  meetings  are  so  numerous  that  at  least  one 
hour  out  of  the  twenty- four  must  thus  be  spent  by  a man 
about  town.  Equals  kneel,  or  rather  squat,  before  one- 
another,  and  snap  the  fingers  in  the  peculiarly  West 
African  way,  which  seems  to  differ  in  every  tribe.’ 

In  the  religious  customs  of  Tahiti,1  ‘ however  large  or 
costly  the  sacrifices  that  had  been  offered,  and  however  near 
its  close  the  most  protracted  ceremony  might  be,  if  the 
priest  omitted  or  misplaced  any  word  in  the  prayers  with 
which  it  was  always  accompanied,  or  if  his  attention  was 
diverted  by  any  means,  so  that  the  prayer  was  hai,  or  broken, 

1 Ellis’  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  157- 


308 


PROPERTY  IN  LAND. 


the  whole  was  rendered  unavailable,  he  must  prepare  other 
victims,  and  repeat  his  prayers  over  from  the  commence- 
ment/ 

In  Feegee  1 ‘ public  business  is  conducted  with  tedious 
formality.  Old  forms  are  strictly  observed,  and  innova- 
tions opposed.  An  abundance  of  measured  clapping  of 
hands,  and  subdued  exclamations,  characterise  these 
occasions.  Whales’  teeth  and  other  property  are  never 
exchanged  or  presented  without  the  following  or  similar 
form  : “ A ! woi ! woi!  woi ! A ! woi  ! woi ! woi !!  A tabua 
levu  ! woi ! woi ! A mudua,  mudua,  mudua  ! ” (clapping)/ 
But  little  consideration  is  required  to  show  that  this  is  quite 
natural.  In  the  absence  of  writing,  evidence  of  contracts 
must  depend  on  the  testimony  of  witnesses,  and  it  is 
necessary  therefore  to  avoid  all  haste  which  might  lead  to 
forgetfulness,  and  to  imprint  the  ceremony  as  much  as 
possible  on  the  minds  of  those  present. 

Passing  on  to  the  question  of  property,  c La  premiere  loi,’ 
says  Goguet,2  ‘ qu’on  aura  etablie,  aura  ete  pour  assigner  et 
assurer  a chaque  habitant  une  certaine  quantite  de  terrein. 
Dans  les  terns  ou  le  labourage  n’etoit  point  encore  connu, 
les  terres  etoient  en  commun.  H n’y  avoit  ni  bomes  ni 
limites  qui  en  reglassent  le  partage,  chacun  prenoit  sa 
subsistance  ou  il  jugeoit  a-propos.  On  abandonnoit,  on 
reprenoit  successivement  les  memes  cantons,  suivant  qu’ils 
etoient  plus  ou  moins  epuises : cette  maniere  de  vivre  n’a 
plus  ete  praticable  quand  l’agriculture  a ete  introduite.  II 
fallut  alors  distinguer  les  possessions  et  prendre  les 
mesures  necessaires  pour  faire  jouir  chaque  citoyen  du  fruit 
de  ses  travaux.  II  etoit  dans  l’ordre  que  celui  qui  avoit 
seme  du  grain  fut  sur  de  le  recueillir,  et  ne  vit  pas  les 
autres  profiter  des  peines  et  des  soins  qu’ils  s’etoit  donnes. 

1 Williams’  Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  28.  2 Loc.  cit. 


PEOPEETY  IK  LAND. 


309 


De-la,  sont  emanees  les  loix  sur  la  propriety  des  terres, 
sur  la  maniere  de  les  partager  et  d’en  jouir.’ 

The  same  view  has  been  taken  by  other  writers.  It  does 
not,  however,  appear  that  property  in  land  implies,  or 
necessarily  arose  from,  agriculture.  On  the  contrary,  it 
exists  even  in  hunting  communities.  Usually,  indeed, 
during  the  hunting  stage,  property  in  land  is  tribal,  not 
individual.  The  North  American  Indians  seem,  as  a gene- 
ral rule,  to  have  had  no  individual  property  in  land.  It 
appears,  therefore,  at  first  sight  remarkable,  that  among 
the  Australians,1  who  are  in  most  respects  so  much  lower 
in  the  scale,  ‘ every  male  has  some  portion  of  land,  of  which 
he  can  always  point  out  the  exact  boundaries.  These 
properties  are  subdivided  by  a father  among  his  sons 
during  his  own  lifetime,  and  descend  in  almost  hereditary 
succession.  A man  can  dispose  of  or  barter  his  lands  to 
others,  but  a female  never  inherits,  nor  has  primogeniture 
among  the  sons  any  peculiar  rights  or  advantages.’  Nay, 
more  than  this,  there  are  some  tracts  of  land,  peculiarly 
rich  in  gum,  &c.,  and  over  which,  at  the  period  when  the 
gum  is  in  season,  numerous  families  have  an  acknowledged 
right,  although  they  are  not  allowed  to  come  there  at  other 
times.2  Even  the  water  of  the  rivers  is  claimed  as  pro- 
perty by  some  of  the  Australian  tribes.  ‘ Trespass  for  the 
purpose  of  hunting  ’ is  in  Australia  regarded  as  a capital 
offence,  and  is,  when  possible,  punished  with  death.3 

The  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  Eedskins  depended 
mainly  on  the  larger  game,  while  the  Australians  fed  on 
opossums,  reptiles,  insects,  roots,  &c.  The  Eedskin,  there- 
fore, if  land  had  been  divided  into  individual  allotments, - 
might  have  been  starved  in  the  vicinity  of  abundance ; 


1 Eyre,  Discoveries  in  Australia,  * Grey’s  Australia,  vol.  ii.  p.  298. 

vol.  ii.  p.  297.  See  also  Lang  in  3 Lor,  cit.  p.  236. 

Grey’s  Australia,  vol.  ii.  p.  232. 


310 


COMMUNAL  PROPERTY. 


while  the  Australian  could  generally  obtain  food  on  his 
own  property. 

In  Polynesia,1  where  cultivation  was  carefully  attended 
to,  as  in  Tahiti,  ‘ every  portion  of  land  has  its  respective 
owner ; and  even  the  distinct  trees  on  the  land  had  some- 
times different  proprietors,  and  a tree,  and  the  land  it 
grew  on,  different  owners/ 

Even,  however,  an  agricultural  condition  does  not 
necessarily  require  individual  property  in  land;  in  the 
Russian  { Mirs,5  or  communal  villages,  moveable  property 
alone  was  individual ; the  land  was  common.2 

In  other  parts  of  Russia,  ‘ after  the  expiration  of  a given, 
but  not  in  all  cases  of  the  same,  period,  separate  owner- 
ships are  extinguished,  the  land  of  the  village  is  thrown 
into  a mass,  and  then  it  is  re-distributed  among  the 
families  composing  the  community,  according  to  their 
number.  This  repartition  having  been  effected,  the  rights 
of  families  and  of  individuals  are  again  allowed  to  branch 
out  into  various  lines,  which  they  continue  to  follow  till 
another  period  of  division  comes  round.5  3 

It  is  stated  to  have  been  a principle  of  the  earliest 
Sclavonian  laws  that  the  property  of  families  could  not  be 
divided  for  a perpetuity.  Even  now  in  parts  of  Servia, 
Croatia,  and  Austrian  Sclavonia,  the  entire  land  is  culti- 
vated by  the  villagers,  and  the  produce  is  annually  divided. 

Diodorus  Siculus  states  that  the  Celtiberians  divided  their 
land  annually  among  individuals,  to  be  laboured  for  the 
use  of  the  public ; and  that  the  product  was  stored  up,  and 
distributed  from  time  to  time  among  the  necessitous.4 

In  New  Zealand  there  were  three  distinct  tenures  of 
land : 5 viz.,  by  the  tribe,  by  the  family,  and  by  the  indi- 

1 Ellis’  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  3 Maine’s  Ancient  Law,  p.  267. 

ii.  p.  362.  Dieffenbach,  vol.  ii.  p.  4 Lord  Karnes’  History  of  Man,  vol, 
114.  i.  p.  93. 

2 Faucher,  in  Systems  of  Land  5 Taylor,  New  Zealand  'ind  its  In- 

Tenure,  p.  362,  et  seq.  habitants,  p.  384. 


LAWS  OF  INHERITANCE. 


311 


vidual.  The  common  rights  of  a tribe  were  often  very  ex- 
tensive, and  complicated  by  intermarriages.  The  eel  cuts, 
also,  are  strictly  preserved  as  private  property.  Children, 
as  soon  as  they  were  born,  had  a right  to  a share  of  the 
family  property. 

It  does  not,  however,  necessarily  follow  that  property  in 
land  involves  the  power  of  sale.  ‘We  are  too  apt/  says 
Campbell,1  ‘ to  forget  that  property  in  land,  as  a transferable 
mercantile  commodity  absolutely  owned  and  passing  from 
hand  to  hand  like  any  chattel,  is  not  an  ancient  institution, 
but  a modern  development,  reached  only  in  a few  very  ad- 
vanced countries.’  ‘ It  may  be  said,’  he  adds,2  ‘ of  all  landed 
tenures  in  India  previous  to  our  rule,  that  they  were  prac- 
tically not  transferable  by  sale;  and  that  only  certain 
classes  of  the  better-defined  claims  were  to  some  extent 
transferable  by  mortgage.  The  seizure  and  sale  of  land 
for  private  debt  was  wholly  and  utterly  unknown, — such  an 
idea  had  never  entered  into  the  native  imagination.’ 

Still  less  does  the  possession  of  land  necessarily  imply 
the  power  of  testamentary  disposition,  and  we  find  as  a 
matter  of  fact  that  the  will  is  a legal  process  of  very  late 
origin. 

I have  already  mentioned  the  state  of  entire  lawlessness 
which  exists  in  Africa,  between  the  death  of  one  ruler  and 
the  election  of  his  successors. 

It  is  stated  that  formerly,  when  a Greenlander  died,  if 
he  had  no  grown-up  children,  his  property  was  regarded 
as  having  no  longer  an  owner,  and  every  one  took  what  he 
chose,  or  at  least  what  he  could  get,  without  the  slightest 
regard  to  the  wretched  widow  or  children.3 
. There  is,  indeed,  no  more  interesting  chapter  in  Mr. 
Maine’s  work  than  that  on  the  early  history  of  testa- 

1 Systems  of  Land  Tenure,  p.  151.  3 Crantz,  History  of  Greenland,  vol, 

2 Ibid.  p.  171.  i.  P-  192. 


S12 


ABSENCE  OF  WILLS. 


mentary  succession.  He  points  out  that  the  essence  of 
a will,  as  now  understood,  is,  firstly,  that  it  should  take 
effect  at  death ; secondly,  that  it  may  he  preserved  secret ; 
and  thirdly,  that  it  is  revocable.  Yet  in  Homan  law  wills 
acquired  these  characteristics  but  slowly  and  gradually, 
and  in  the  earlier  stages  of  civilisation  wills  were  entirely 
unknown. 

In  Athens  the  power  of  willing  was  introduced  by  Solon, 
only,  however,  in  cases  when  a person  died  childless.  The 
barbarians  on  the  north  of  the  Homan  Empire  were,  says 
Maine,1  c confessedly  strangers  to  any  such  conception  as 
that  of  a Will.  The  best  authorities  agree  that  there  is  no 
trace  of  it  in  those  parts  of  their  written  codes  which  com- 
prise the  customs  practised  by  them  in  their  original  seats 
and  in  their  subsequent  settlement  on  the  edge  of  the 
Roman,  Empire.5 

And  again  in  studying  the  ancient  German  laws,  c one 
result  has  invariably  disclosed  itself — that  the  ancient 
nucleus  of  the  code  contains  no  trace  of  a will.5  2 

The  Hindoos  also  were  entire  strangers  to  the  will.3 

It  is  therefore  remarkable  in  Australia,  c a father  divides 
his  land  during  his  lifetime,  fairly  apportioning  it  amongst 
his  several  sons,  and  at  as  early  an  age  as  fourteen  or 
fifteen  they  can  point  out  the  portion  which  they  are 
eventually  to  inherit.  If  the  males  of  a family  become 
extinct,  the  male  children  of  the  daughters  inherit  their 
grandfather’s  land.54 

Again,  in  Tahiti,  the  system  of  willing  was  (I  presume 
when  there  were  no  children),  in  full  force,5  ‘ not  only  with 
reference  to  land,  but  to  any  other  kind  of  property.  Un- 
acquainted with  letters,  they  could  not.  leave  a written 

1 Loc . cit . p.  172.  p.  177. 

2 Loc . cit.  p.  196.  4 Eyre’s  Australia,  vol.  ii.  p.  236. 

3 Maine’s  Ancient  Law,  p.  193.  5 Ellis’  Polynesian  Researches,  vol 

Campbell  in  Systems  of  Land  Tenure,  ii.  p.  362. 


ROMAN  WILLS. 


313 


will,  but  during  a season  of  illness,  those  possessing  pro- 
perty frequently  called  together  the  members  of  the  family, 
or  confidential  friends,  and  to  them  gave  directions  for  the 
disposal  of  their  effects  after  their  decease.  This  was 
considered  a kind  of  sacred  charge,  and  was  usually 
executed  with  fidelity.’ 

For  the  modern  will,  however,  we  are  mainly  indebted  to 
the  Romans.  At  first,  indeed,  even  Roman  wills,  if  so 
they  may  be  called,  were  neither  secret,  deferred,  nor 
revocable.  • On  the  contrary,  they  were  made  in  public, 
before  not  less  than  five  witnesses,  they  took  effect  at  once, 
and  were  irrevocable.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  they  were 
only  made  just  before  death. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  power  of  willing  was  con- 
fined to  those  who  had  no  natural  heirs  £ such  was  cer- 
tainly the  case  in  Athens.  So  also  in  Rome,  the  will 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  used  as  a means  of  disinheriting, 
or  of  effecting  an  unequal  distribution  of  the  property. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  appears  at  first  sight 
remarkable  that  the  Romans  should  have  regarded  for- 
feiture of  testamentary  privileges  as  one  of  the  greatest 
misfortunes,  and  should  have  regarded  as  a bitter  curse 
the  wish  that  a man  might  die  intestate.  The  explanation 
of  this  seems  to  lie  in  the  ideas  of  family  relationship. 
Children  being  slaves,  and  as  such  incapable  of  holding 
property,1  it  would  naturally  be  the  wish  of  the  father  to 
emancipate  his  favourite  sons ; but  as  soon  as  this  was 
effected  they  ceased  to  belong  to  the  family,  and  could  not 
consequently  inherit  as  heirs  at  law.  On  the  death  of  a 
Roman  citizen,  in  the  absence  of  a will,  the  property  des- 
cended to  the  unemancipated  children,  and  after  them  to 
the  nearest  grade  of  the  agnatic  kindred.  Hence  the  same 
feeling  which  induced  a Roman  to  emancipate  his  sons, 

1 Maine’s  Ancient  Law,  p.  180. 


314 


RIGHTS  OP  CHILDREN. 


impelled  him  also  to  make  a will,  for  if  lie  did  not  do  so, 
emancipation  involved  disinheritance. 

The  turning  point  in  the  history  of  the  Roman  will 
appears  to  have  been  the  period  at  which  the  presence  of 
the  true  heir  was  dispensed  with  when  the  will  was  made. 
When  this  was  first  permitted  does  not  seem  to  be  exactly 
known,  but  it  was  sanctioned  in  tlie  time  of  Gaius,  who 
lived  during  the  reigns  of  the  Antonines ; at  this  period 
also  wills  had  become  revocable,1  and  even  in  the  time  of 
Hadrian  a testament  was  rendered  invalid  when  a ‘ post- 
humus suus 5 arose,  i.e.  when  a child  was  born  after  the 
will  was  made.2 

In  the  absence  of  wills,  the  interests  of  the  children  were 
in  some  cases  secured  by  customs  resembling  those  of  the 
Russian  village  communities,  or  ‘ Mirs,’  in  which  children 
have  a right  to  their  share  as  soon  as  they  are  born.  Nor 
are  such  rights  confined  to  communal  properties.  In  some 
countries  the  children  have  a vested  right  to  a portion  of 
their  father’s  estate.  Here  therefore,  in  the  absence  of 
children,  the  will  is  replaced  by  adoption,  the  importance 
attached  to  which  is,  as  I have  already  mentioned,  one  of 
the  reasons  for  the  inaccuracy  of  thought  among  the  lower 
races  on  the  subject  of  relationship. 

Among  the  Hindoos,  ‘the  instant  a son  is  born3  he 
acquires  a vested  right  in  his  father’s  property,  which 
cannot  be  sold  without  recognition  of  his  joint-ownership. 
On  the  son’s  attaining  full  age,  he  can  sometimes  compel 
a partition  of  the  estate  even  against  the  consent  of  the 
parent;  and,  should  the  parent  acquiesce,  one  son  can 
always  have  a partition  even  against  the  will  of  the  others. 
On  such  partition  taking  place,  the  father  has  no  advantage 
over  his  children,  except  that  he  has  two  of  the  shares 


1 Tomkin’s  and  Lemon’s  Commen- 

taries of  Gaius,  com.  11,  sec.  cxliv. 


2 loc.  cit.  com.  11,  sec.  cxliii. 

3 Maine’s  Ancient  Law,  p,  228. 


THE  VASU. 


315 


instead  of  one,  dhe  ancient  law  of  the  German  tribes  was 
exceedingly  similar.  The  Allod  or  domain  of  the  family 
was  the  joint  property  of  the  father  and  his  sons.’  Ac- 
cording to  ancient  German  law,  also,  children  were  co- 
proprietors with  their  father,  and  the  family  endowment 
could  not  be  parted  with  except  by  general  consent. 

This  probably  explains  the  remarkable  custom  that  in 
Tahiti  the  king  abdicated  as  soon  as  a son  was  born  to 
him ; and  landowners  under  similar  circumstances  lost  the 
fee-simple  of  their  land,  and  became  mere  trustees  for  the 
infant  possessors.1 

The  Basutos  have  a strict  system  of  primogeniture,  and, 
even  during  the  father’s  life,  the  eldest  son  has  consider- 
able power  both  over  the  property  and  the  younger 
children.2 

The  same  system,  in  combination  with  inheritance 
through  females,  is  also  in  full  force  in  Feejee,  where  it  is 
known  as  Vasu.  The  word  means  a nephew  or  niece, 

‘ but  becomes  a title  of  office  in  the  case  of  the  male,  who, 
in  some  localities,  has  the  extraordinary  privilege  of 
appropriating  whatever  he  chooses  belonging  to  his  uncle, 
or  those  under  his  uncle’s  power.’3  This  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  parts  of  Feejee  despotism.  ‘ However  high  a 
chief  may  be,  if  he  has  a nephew  he  has  a master,’  and 
resistance  is  rarely  thought  of.  Tliakonauto,  while  at  war 
with  his  uncle,  actually  supplied  himself  with  ammunition 
from  his  enemies’  stores. 

Perhaps  also  the  curious  custom  of  naming  the  father 
after  the  child,  may  have  originated  from  some  such  regu- 
lation. Thus  in  Australia,4  when  a man’s  eldest  child  is 
named,  the  father  takes  4 the  name  of  the  child,  Kadlit- 

1 Ellis’  Polynesian  Kesearches,  vol.  3 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  34. 

ii.  pp.  346,  347.  4 Eyre,  loc.  cit,  vol.  ii.  p.  325. 

2 Casalis’  Basutos,  p.  179. 


316  THE  CUSTOM  OF  NAMING-  PARENTS  AFTER  CHILDREN 


pinna*  the  father  of  Kadli ; the  mother  is  called  Kadling- 
angki*  or  mother  of  Kadli*  from  ngangki*  a female  or 
woman.5  This  custom  seems  very  general  throughout  the 
continent. 

In  America  we  find  the  same  habit.1  Thus  ‘with  the 
Kutchin  the  father  takes  his  name  from  his  son  or  daughter, 
not  the  son  from  the  father  as  with  us.  The  father’s 
name  is  formed  by  the  addition  of  the  word  tee  to  the  end 
of  the  son’s  name;  for  instance*  Que-ech-et  may  have  a 
son  and  call  him  Sah-neu.  The  father  is  now  called  Sah- 
neu-tee*  and  the  former  name  of  Que-ech-et  is  forgotten.’ 

In  Sumatra* ‘ the  father*2  in  many  parts  of  the  country* 
particularly  in  Passum-mah*  is  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  his  first  child*  as  “ Pa-Ladin*”  or  “ Pa-Eindu,”  (Pa  for 
bapa*  signifying  “the  father  of”)  and  loses,  in  this  acquired* 
his  own  proper  name.  This  is  a singular  custom*  and 
surely  less  conformable  to  the  order  of  nature  than  that 
which  names  the  son  after  the  father.  There*  it  is  not  usual 
to  give  them  a galar  on  their  marriage*  as  with  the  Eejangs* 
among  whom  the  filionymic  is  not  so  common,  though 
sometimes  adopted*  and  occasionally  joined  with  the 
galar ; as  Eadin-pa-Chirano.  The  women  never  change  the 
name  given  them  at  the  time  of  their  birth ; yet  frequently 
they  are  called  through  courtesy,  from  their  eldest  child, 
“ Ma  si  ano,”  the  mother  of  such  an  one ; but  rather  as  a 
polite  description  than  a name.’ 

As  a general  rule  property  decends  to  the  eldest  son*  if 
any*  but  Duhalde  mentions  that  among  the  Tartars  the 
youngest  son  inherited  the  property*  because  the  elder 
ones  as  they  reach  manhood  leave  the  paternal  tent* 
and  take  with  them  the  quantity  of  cattle  which  their 
father  chooses  to  give  them.  A similar  custom  existed 

1 Smithsonian  Report,  1866,  p.  2 Marsden’s  History  of  Sumatra, 
326.  p.  286. 


I 


THE  PUNISHMENT  OP  CHIME. 


317 


among  the  Mrus  of  the  Arrawak  hills  also,1  and  even  in 
some  districts  of  our  own  country,  during  ante-Norman 
times,  under  the  name  of  Borough  English.2 3 

There  are  also  cases,  as  for  instance  among  the  Hindoos, 
in  which  the  rule  of  primogeniture  is  followed  as  regards 
office  or  power,  politically,  but  not  with  reference  to 
property. 

Among  the  lower  races  of  men,  the  chiefs  scarcely  take 
any  cognisance  of  offences,  unless  they  relate  to  such  things 
as  directly  concern,  or  are  supposed  to  concern,  the  inter- 
ests of  the  community  generally.  As  regards  private  in- 
juries, every  one  must  protect  or  avenge  himself.  The 
administration  of  justice,  says  Hu  Tertre,®  c among  the 
Caribbians  is  not  exercised  by  the  captain,  nor  by  any 
magistrate ; but,  as  it  is  among  the  Tapinambous,  he  who 
thinks  himself  injured  gets  such  satisfaction  of  his  adver- 
sary as  he  thinks  fit,  according  as  his  passion  dictates  to 
him,  or  his  strength  permits  him:  the  public  does  not 
concern  itself  at  all  in  the  punishment  of  criminals,  and  if 
any  one  among  them  suffers  an  injury  or  affront,  without 
endeavouring  to  revenge  himself,  he  is  slighted  by  all  the 
rest,  and  accounted  a coward,  and  a person  of  no  esteem.’ 

Among  the  North  American  Indians,4  if  a man  was  mur- 
dered, £ the  family  of  the  deceased  only  have  the  right  of 
taking  satisfaction ; they  collect,  consult,  and  decree.  The 
rulers  of  a town  or  of  the  nation  have  nothing  to  do  or  say 
in  the  business.’  Indeed,  it  would  seem  that  the  object  of 
legal  regulations  was  at  first  not  so  much  to  punish  the 
offender,  as  to  restrain  and  mitigate  the  vengeance  in- 
flicted by  the  aggrieved  party. 


1 Lewin’s  Hill  Tracts  of  Chittagong, 
p.  194. 

4 Wren  Hoskyns  in  Customs  of  Land 
Tenure,  p.  104. 

3 History  of  the  Caribby  Islands, 


p.  316.  Labat  also  makes  a very 
similar  statement.  Voyage  aux  Isles 
d’Amerique,  vol.  ii.  p.  83. 

4 Trans.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.  vol.  i. 
p.  2S1. 


318 


THE  LAWS  OF  PROPERTY. 


The  amount  of  legal  revenge,  if  I may  so  call  it,  is  often 
strictly  regulated,  even  where  we  should  least  expect  to 
find  such  limitations.  Thus  in  Australia,1  crimes  ‘may 
be  compounded  for  by  the  criminal  appearing  and  submit- 
ting himself  to  the  ordeal  of  having  spears  thrown  at  him 
by  all  such  persons  as  conceive  themselves  to  have  been 
aggrieved,  or  by  permitting  spears  to  be  thrust  through 
certain  parts  of  his  body ; such  as  through  the  thigh,  or 
the  calf  of  the  leg,  or  under  the  arm.  The  part  which  is 
to  be  pierced  by  a spear,  is  fixed  for  all  common  crimes, 
and  a native  who  has  incurred  this  penalty  sometimes 
quietly  holds  out  his  leg  for  the  injured  party  to  thrust  his 
spear  through.5  So  strictly  is  the  amount  of  punishment 
limited,  that  if  in  inflicting  such  spear  wounds,  a man, 
either  through  carelessness  or  from  any  other  cause,  ex- 
ceeded the  recognised  limits — if,  for  instance,  he  wounded 
the  femoral  artery — he  would  in  his  turn  become  liable  to 
punishment. 

Such  cases  as  these  seem  to  me  to  throw  great  light  on 
the  origin  of  the  idea  of  property.  Possession  de  facto 
needs  of  course  no  explanation.  When,  however,  any  rules 
were  laid  down  regulating  the  amount  or  mode  of  ven- 
geance which  might  be  taken  in  revenge  for  disturbance ; 
'or  when  the  chief  thought  it  worth  while  himself  to  settle 
disputes  about  possession,  and  thus,  while  increasing  his 
own  dignity,  to  check  quarrels  which  might  be  injurious 
to  the  general  interests  of  the  tribe ; the  natural  effect 
would  be  to  develop  the  idea  of  mere  possession  into  that 
of  property. 

Since,  then,  crimes  were  at  first  regarded  merely  as  per- 
sonal matters,  in  which  the  aggressor  and  the  victim  alone 
were  interested,  and  with  which  society  was  not  concerned, 
any  crime,  even  murder,  might  be  atoned  for  by  the  pay- 
1 Sir  G.  Grey’s  Australia,  vol.  ii.  p.  243. 


THE  LAWS  OF  PEOPEHTY. 


319 


ment  of  such,  a sum  of  money  as  satisfied  the  representa- 
tives of  the  murdered  man.  This  payment  was  proportioned 
to  the  injury  done,  and  had  no  relation  to  the  crime  as  a 
crime.  Hence,  as  the  injury  was  the  same  whether  the 
death  was  accidental  or  designed,  so  also  was  the  penalty. 
Hence  our  word  ‘pay/  which  comes  from  the  Latin 
6 pacare/  to  appease  or  pacify. 

The  Eomans,  on  the  contrary,  based  any  claim  for  com- 
pensation on  the  existence  of  a culpa ; ’ and  hence  laid 
down  that  where  there  had  been  no  ‘culpa/  no  action 
for  reparation  could  lie.  This  led  to  very  inconvenient 
consequences.  Thus,  as  Lord  Karnes1  has  pointed  out, 
‘ Labeo  scribit,  si  cum  vi  ventorum  navis  impulsa  esset 
in  funes  anchorarum  alterius,  et  nautse  funes  prsecidissent ; 
si,  nullo  alio  modo,  nisi  prsecisis  funibus,  explicare  se  po- 
tuit,  nullam  actionem  dandam ; ’ b.  29,  § 3,  ad  leg.  Aquil. 
6 Quod  dicitur  damnum  injuria  datum  Aquilia  persequi  sic 
erit  accipiendum,  ut  videatur  damnum  injuria  datum  quod 
cum  damno  injuriam  attulerit ; nisi  magna  vi  cogente,  fuerit 
factum.  Ut  Celsus  scribit  circa  eum,  qui  incendii  arcendi 
gratia  vicinas  sedes  intercidit : et  sive  pervenit  ignis,  sive 
antea  extinctus  est,  extimat  legis  Aquilise  actionem  cessare.’ 
b.  49,  § 1,  eod.  In  English  thus  : In  the  opinion  of  Labeo, 
if  a ship  is  driven  by  the  violence  of  a tempest  among  the 
anchor-ropes  of  another  ship  and  the  sailors  cut  the  ropes, 
having  no  other  means  of  getting  free,  there  is  no  action 
competent.  The  Aquilian  law  must  be  understood  to  apply 
only  to  such  damage  as  carries  the  idea  of  an  injury  along 
with  it,  unless  such  injury  has  not  been  wilfully  done,  but 
from  necessity.  ‘ Thus  Celsus  puts  the  case  of  a person 
who,  to  stop  the  progress  of  a fire,  pulls  down  his  neigh- 
bour’s house ; and  whether  the  fire  had  reached  that  house 
which  is  pulled  down,  or  was  extinguished  before  it  got 


1 History  of  Man,  vol.  iv.  p.  34. 


320 


MANIFEST  AND  NON-MANIFEST  THIEVES. 


to  it,  in  neither  case,  lie  thinks,  will  an  action  he  com- 
petent from  the  Aqnilian  law.5 

It  would  however  appear  that,  even  in  Roman  law,  the 
opposite  and  more  usual  principle  originally  prevailed. 
This  is  indicated,  for  instance,  by  the  great  difference 
in  the  penalties  imposed  by  ancient  laws  on  offenders 
caught  in  the  act,  and  those  only  detected  after  consider- 
able delay.  In  the  old  Roman  law,  as  in  that  of  some 
other  countries,  thieves  were  divided  into  manifest,  and 
non-manifest.  The  manifest  thief  who  was  caught  in  the 
act,  or  at  any  rate  with  the  stolen  goods  still  in  his  pos- 
session, became,  according  to  the  law  of  the  twelve  tables, 
the  slave  of  the  person  robbed,  or  if  he  was  already  a slave, 
was  put  to  death.  The  non-manifest  thief,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  only  liable  to  return  double  the  value  of  the 
goods  he  had  stolen.  Subsequently,  the  very  severe 
punishment  in  the  case  of  the  manifest  thief  was  miti- 
gated, but  he  was  still  forced  to  pay  four  times  the  value 
of  what  he  had  stolen,  or  twice  as  much  as  the  non-mani- 
fest thief. 

The  same  principle  was  followed  by  the  North  American 
Indians.1  Again,  in  the  German  and  Anglo-Saxon  codes, 
a thief  caught  in  the  act  might  be  killed  on  the  spot. 
Thus  the  law  followed  the  old  principles  of  private  ven- 
geance, and  in  settling  the  amount  of  punishment,  took  as 
a guide  the  measure  of  revenge  likely  to  be  taken  by  an 
aggrieved  person  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case.2 

In  the  South*  Sea  Islands,  according  to  Williams,3  cases 
of  theft  were  seldom  brought  before  the  king  or  chiefs, 
but  the  people  avenged  their  own  injuries.  The  rights  of  ! 
retaliation,  however,  had  almost  a legal  force,  for  c although  1 

I 

1 Trans.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.  vol.  i.  3 Polynesian  Kesearches,  yol.  ii.  pp. 

p.  285.  369,  372. 

2 See  Maine,  loc . cit.  p.  378. 


THE  WERGILD. 


321 


tlie  party  thus  plundered  them,  they  would  not  attempt  to 
prevent  the  seizure : had  they  done  so,  the  population  of 
the  district  would  have  assisted  those,  who,  according  to 
the  established  custom,  were  thus  punishing  the  aggressors. 
Such  was  the  usual  method  resorted  to  for  punishing  the 
petty  thefts  committed  among  themselves.5 

So  also  as  regards  personal  injuries.  Among  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  the  c wergild,5  or  fine  for  injuries,  was  evidently 
a substitute  for  personal  vengeance.  Every  part  of  the 
body  had  a recognised  value,  even  the  teeth,  nails,  and 
hair.  Nay,  the  value  assigned  to  the  latter  was  propor- 
tionately very  high;  the  loss  of  the  beard  being  estimated 
at  twenty  shillings,  while  the  breaking  of  a thigh  was  only 
fixed  at  twelve.  In  other  cases  also  the  effect  on  personal 
appearance  seems  to  have  carried  great  weight,  for  the  loss 
of  a front  tooth  was  estimated  at  six  shillings,  while  the 
fracture  of  a rib  was  only  fixed  at  three.  In  the  case  of  a 
slave  the  fine  was  paid  to  the  owner. 

The  amount  varied  according  to  the  rank  of  the  person 
injured.  All  society  below  the  royal  family  and  the  Eal- 
dorman  was  divided  into  three  classes ; the  Tywhind  man, 
or  Ceorl,  was  estimated  at  200  shillings  according  to  the 
laws  of  Mercia ; the  Sixhind  man  at  600  shillings,  while 
the  death  of  a royal  thane  was  estimated  at  1,200 
shillings.1 

The  severity  of  early  codes,  and  the  uniformity  in  the 
amounts  of  punishment  which  characterises  them,  is  pro- 
bably due  to  the  same  cause.  An  individual  who  felt 
himself  aggrieved  would  not  weigh  very  philosophically  the 
amount  of  punishment  which  he  was  entitled  to  inflict ; and 
no  doubt  when  in  any  community  some  chief,  in  advance  of 
his  time,  endeavoured  to  substitute  public  law  for  private 

1 Student.  Hum.  p.  74.  Haliam,  yoI.  i.  p.  272. 


15 


322 


GENERAL  CONCLUSION. 


vengeance,  his  object  would  be  to  induce  those  who  had 
cause  of  complaint  to  apply  to  the  law  for  redress,  rather 
than  to  avenge  themselves ; which  of  course  would  not  be 
the  case  if  the  penalty  allotted  by  the  law  was  much 
less  than  that  which  custom  would  allow  them  to  inflict 
for  themselves. 

Subsequently,  when  punishment  was  substituted  for 
pecuniary  compensation,  the  same  rule  was  at  first  applied, 
and  the  distinction  of  intention  was  overlooked.  Nay,  so 
long  had  the  importance  of  intention  been  disregarded, 
that  although  it  is  now  recognised  in  our  criminal  courts, 
yet,  as  Mr.  Bain  points  out,1  c a moral  stigma  is  still 
attached  to  intellectual  error  by  many  people,  and  even  by 
men  of  cultivation.5 

In  this,  as  in  so  many  of  our  other  ideas  and  tastes,  we 
are  still  influenced  by  the  condition  of  our  ancestors  in 
bygone  ages.  What  that  condition  was  I have  in  this 
work  attempted  to  indicate,  believing  as  I do  that  the  j 
earlier  mental  stages  through  which  the  human  race  has 
passed,  are  illustrated  by  the  condition  of  existing,  or 
recent,  savages.  The  history  of  the  human  race  has,  I 
feel  satisfied,  on  the  whole  been  one  of  progress.  I do 
not  of  course  mean  to  say  that  every  race  is  necessarily 
advancing : on  the  contrary,  most  of  the  lower  ones  are 
almost  stationary  ; and  there  are,  no  doubt,  cases  in  which 
nations  have  fallen  back;  but  it  seems  an  almost  invariable 
rule  that  such  races  are  dying  out,  while  those  which 
are  stationary  in  condition,  are  stationary  in  numbers 
also;  on  the  other  hand,  improving  nations  increase  in 
numbers,  so  that  they  always  encroach  on  less  progres- 
sive races. 

In  conclusion  then,  while  I do  not  mean  for  a moment  to 


1 Mental  and  Moral  Science,  p.  718. 


GENERAL  CONCLUSION. 


323 


deny  that  there  are  cases  in  which  nations  have  retro- 
graded, I regard  these  as  exceptional  instances.  The  facts 
and  arguments  mentioned  in  this  work  afford,  I think, 
strong  grounds  for  the  following  conclusions ; namely, — 

That  existing  savages  are  not  the  descendants  of  civilised 
ancestors. 

That  the  primitive  condition  of  man  was  one  of  utter 
barbarism. 

That  from  this  condition  several  races  have  indepen- 
dently raised  themselves. 

These  views  follow,  I think,  from  strictly  scientific  con- 
siderations. We  shall  not  be  the  less  inclined  to  adopt 
them,  on  account  of  the  cheering  prospects  which  they 
hold  out  for  the  future. 

In  the  closing  chapter  of  6 Prehistoric  Times/  while 
fully  admitting  the  charms  of  savage  life,  I have  en- 
deavoured to  point  out  the  immense  advantages  which  we 
enjoy.  Here  I will  only  add  that  if  the  past  history  of 
man  has  been  one  of  deterioration,  we  have  but  a ground- 
less expectation  of  future  improvement : on  the  other  hand, 
if  the  past  has  been  one  of  progress,  we  may  fairly  hope  that 
the  future  will  be  so  also ; that  the  blessings  of  civilisation 
will  not  only  be  extended  to  other  countries  and  to  other 
nations,  but  that  even  in  our  own  land  they  will  be  rendered 
more  general  and  more  equable ; so  that  we  shall  not  see 
before  us  always,  as  now,  countrymen  of  our  own  living  in 
our  very  midst  a life  worse  than  that  of  a savage  ; neither 
enjoying  the  rough  advantages  and  real,  though  coarse, 
pleasures  of  savage  life,  nor  yet  availing  themselves  of  the 
far  higher  and  more  noble  opportunities  which  lie  within 
the  reach  of  civilised  Man. 


i 


APPENDIX. 


ON  THE  PRIMITIVE  CONDITION  OP  MAN. 

PART  I. 

Being  the  substance  of  a Paper  read  before  the  British  Association 

at  Dundee. 

SIDE  by  side  with  the  different  opinions  as  to  the  origin  of  man, 
there  are  two  opposite  views  with  reference  to  the  primitive  con- 
dition of  the  first  men,  or  first  beings  worthy  to  be  so  called.  Many 
writers  have  considered  that  man  was  at  first  a mere  savage,  and  that 
the  course  of  history  has  on  the  whole  been  a progress  towards  civili- 
sation, though  at  times — and  at  some  times  for  centuries — some  races 
have  been  stationary,  or  even  have  retrograded.  Other  authors,  of 
no  less  eminence,  have  taken  a diametrically  opposite  view.  Accord 
ing  to  them,  man  was,  from  the  commencement,  pretty  much  what 
he  is  at  present ; if  possible,  even  more  ignorant  of  the  arts  and 
sciences  than  now,  but  with  mental  qualities  not  inferior  to  our 
own.  Savages  they  consider  to  be  the  degenerate  descendants  of  far 
superior  ancestors.  Of  the  recent  supporters  of  this  theory,  the  late 
Archbishop  of  Dublin  was  amongst  the  most  eminent. 

Dr.  Whately  enunciates  his  opinions  in  the  following  words  :l — 

4 We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  any  community  ever  did, 
or  ever  can  emerge,  unassisted  by  external  helps,  from  a state  of 
utter  barbarism  unto  anything  that  can  be  called  civilisation.’  4 Man 
has  not  emerged  from  the  Ravage  state ; the  progress  of  any  com- 
munity in  civilisation,  by  its  own  internal  means,  must  always  have 
begun  from  a condition  removed  from  that  of  complete  barbarism, 
out  of  which  it  does  not  appear  that  men  ever  4did  or  can  raise 
themselves.’ 

Thus,  he  adds,  4 the  ancient  Germans,  who  cultivated  corn — though 

1 Whately.  Political  Economy,  p.  68. 


326 


DIFFICULTY  OF  OBTAINING- 


their  agriculture  was  probably  in  a very  rude  state — who  not  only 
had  numerous  herds  of  cattle,  but  employed  the  labour  of  brutes, 
and  even  made  use  of  cavalry  in  their  wars,  . . . these  cannot  with 
propriety  be  reckoned  savages ; or  if  they  are  to  be  so  called  (for  it 
is  not  worth  while  to  dispute  about  a word),  then  I would  admit 
that,  in  this  sense,  men  may  advance,  and  in  fact  have  advanced,  by 
their  own  unassisted  efforts,  from  the  savage  to  the  civilised  state.’ 
This  limitation  of  the  term  4 savage  ’ to  the  very  lowest  representatives 
of  the  human  race  no  doubt  renders  Dr.  Whately’s  theory  more 
tenable  by  increasing  the  difficulty  of  bringing  forward  conclusive 
evidence  against  it.  The  Archbishop,  indeed,  expresses  himself 
throughout  his  argument,  as  if  it  would  be  easy  to  produce  the 
required  evidence  in  opposition  to  his  theory,  supposing  that  any 
race  of  savages  ever  had  raised  themselves  to  a state  of  civilisation. 
The  manner,  however,  in  which  he  has  treated  the  case  of  the  Man- 
dans — a tribe  of  North  American  Indians — effectually  disposes  of 
this  hypothesis.  This  unfortunate  people  is  described  as  having 
been  decidedly  more  civilised  than  those  by  which  they  were 
surrounded.  Having,  then,  no  neighbours  more  advanced  than 
themselves,  they  were  quoted  as  furnishing  an  instance  of  savages 
who  had  civilised  themselves  without  external  aid.  In  answer  to 
this,  Archbishop  Whately  asks,— * 

1 1st.  How  do  we  know  that  these  Mandans  were  of  the  same  race 
as  their  neighbours  ? ’ 

‘ 2ndly.  How  do  we  know  that  theirs  is  not  the  original  level  from 
which  the  other  tribes  have  fallen  ? ’ 

4 3rdly  and  lastly.  Supposing  that  the  Mandans  did  emerge  from 
the  savage  state,  how  do  we  know  that  this  may  not  have  been 
through  the  aid  of  some  strangers  coming  among  them — like  the 
Manco-Capac  of  Peru- — from  some  more  civilised  country,  perhaps 
long  before  the  days  of  Columbus  ? ’ 

Supposing,  however,  for  a moment,  and  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
that  the  Mandans,  or  any  other  race,  were  originally  savages,  and  had 
civilised  themselves,  it  would  still  be  manifestly — from  the  very 
nature  of  the  case — impossible  to  bring  forward  the  kind  of  evidence 
demanded  by  Dr.  Whately.  No  doubt  he  c may  confidently  affirm 
that  we  find  no  onp  recoi'ded  instance  of  a tribe  of  savages,  properly 
so  styled,  rising  into  a civilised  state  without  instruction  and 
assistance  from  a people  already  civilised.’  Starting  with  the  pro- 
viso that  savages,  properly  so  styled,  are  ignorant  of  letters,  and 


CONCLUSIVE  EVIDENCE. 


327 


laying  it  down  as  a condition  that  no  civilised  example  should  be 
placed  before  them,  the  existence  of  any  such  record  is  an  impos- 
sibility : its  very  presence  would  destroy  its  value.  In  another 
passage,  Archbishop  Whately  says,  indeed,  4 If  man  generally,  or 
some  particular  race,  be  capable  of  self-civilisation,  in  either  case  it 
may  be  expected  that  some  record,  or  tradition,  or  monument  of  the 
actual  occurrence  of  such  an  event  should  be  found.’  So  far  from 
this,  the  existence  of  any  such  record  would,  according  to  the  very 
hypothesis  itself,  be  impossible.  Traditions  are  short-lived  and 
untrustworthy.  A * monument  ’ which  could  prove  the  actual 
occurrence  of  a race  capable  of  self-civilisation,  I confess  myself 
unable  to  conceive.  What  kind  of  a monument  would  the  Arch- 
bishop accept  as  proving  that  the  people  by  whom  it  was  made 
had  been  originally  savage  ? that  they  had  raised  themselves,  and 
had  never  been  influenced  by  strangers  of  a superior  race  ? 

But,  says  Archbishop  Whately,  4 We  have  accounts  of  various 
savage  tribes,  in  different  parts  of  the  globe,  who  have  been  visited 
from  time  to  time  at  considerable  intervals,  but  have  had  no  settled 
intercourse  with  civilised  people,  and  who  appear  to  continue,  as  far 
as  can  be  ascertained,  in  the  same  uncultivated  condition  ; ’ and  he 
adduces  one  case,  that  of  the  New  Zealanders,  who  6 seem  to  have 
been  in  quite  as  advanced  a state  when  Tasman  discovered  the 
country  in  1642,  as  they  were  when  Cook  visited  it  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  years  after.’  We  have  been  accustomed  to  see 
around  us  an  improvement  so  rapid  that  we  forget  how  short  a 
period  a century  is  in  the  history  of  the  human  race.  Even  taking 
the  ordinary  chronology,  it  is  evident  that  if  in  6,000  years  a 
given  race  has  only  progressed  from  a state  of  utter  savagery  to  the 
condition  of  the  Australian,  we  could  not  expect  to  find  much  change 
in  one  more  century.  Many  a fishing  village,  even  on  our  own 
coast,  is  in  very  nearly  the  same  condition  as  it  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  years  ago.  Moreover,  I might  fairly  answer  that, 
according  to  Whately ’s  own  definition  of  a savage  state,  the  New 
Zealanders  would  certainly  be  excluded.  They  cultivated  the 
ground,  they  had  domestic  animals,  they  constructed  elaborate  forti- 
fications and  made  excellent  canoes,  and  were  certainly  not  in  a state 
of  utter  barbarism.  Or  I might  argue  that  a short  visit,  like  that  of 
Tasman,  could  give  little  insight  into  the  true  condition  of  a people. 
I am,  however,  the  less  disposed  to  question  the  statement  made  by 
Archbishop  Whately,  because  the  fact  that  many  races  are  now 


328  THE  STATIONARY  CONDITION  OE  SAVAGES. 

practically  stationary  is  in  reality  an  argument  against  the  theory  of 
degradation,  and  not  against  that  of  progress.  Civilised  races  are 
the  descendants  of  races  which,  I believe,  were  once  in  a state  of 
barbarism.  On  the  contrary,  argue  our  opponents,  savages  are 
the  descendants  of  civilised  races,  and  have  sunk  to  their  present 
condition.  But  Archbishop  Whately  admits  that  the  civilised 
races  are  still  rising,  wdiile  the  savages  are  stationary ; and,  oddly 
enough,  seems  to  regard  this  as  an  argument  in  support  of  the  very 
untenable  proposition,  that  the  difference  between  the  two  is  due,  not 
to  the  progress  of  the  one  set  of  races — a progress  which  every  one 
admits — but  to  the  degradation  of  those  whom  he  himself  maintains 
to  be  stationary.  The  delusion  is  natural,  and  like  that  which 
every  one  must  have  sometimes  experienced  in  looking  out  of  a 
train  in  motion,  when  the  woods  and  fields  seem  to  be  flying  from 
us,  whereas  we  know  that  in  reality  we  are  moving  and  they  are 
stationary. 

But  it  is  argued,  ‘ If  man,  when  first  created,  was  left,  like  the 
brutes,  to  the  unaided  exercise  of  those  natural  powers  of  body  and 
mind  which  are  common  to  the  European  and  to  the  New  Hollander, 
how  comes  it  that  the  European  is  not  now  in  the  condition  of  the 
New  Hollander  ?’  The  answer  to  this  is,  I think,  the  following: — In 
the  first  place,  Australia  possesses  neither  cereals  nor  any  animals 
which  can  be  domesticated  with  advantage ; and  in  the  second,  we 
find  even  in  the  same  family — among  children  of  the  same  parents — 
the  most  opposite  dispositions ; in  the  same  nation,  there  are  families 
of  high  character,  and  others  in  which  every  member  is  more  or  less 
criminal.  But  in  this  case,  as  in  the  last,  the  Archbishop’s  argument, 
if  good  at  all,  is  good  against  his  own  view.  It  is  like  an  Australian 
boomerang,  which  recoils  upon  its  owner.  The  Archbishop  believed 
in  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  and  argued  that  man  was  originally 
civilised  (in  a certain  sense).  1 How  comes  it,  then,’  I might  ask 
him,  6 that  the  New  Hollander  is  not  now  in  the  condition  of  the 
European  ? ’ In  another  passage,  Archbishop  Whately  quotes,  with 
approbation,  a passage  from  President  Smith,  of  the  college  of  New 
Jersey,  who  says  that  man,  1 cast  out  an  orphan  of  nature,  naked 
and  helpless  into  the  savage  forest,  must  have  perished  before  he 
could  have  learned  how  to  supply  his  most  immediate  and  urgent 
wants.  Suppose  him  to  have  been  created,  or  to  have  started  into 
being,  one  knows  not  how,  in  the  full  strength  of  his  bodily  powers; 
how  long  must  it  have  been  before  he  could  have  known  the  proper 


NO  EVIDENCE  OF  EARLIER  CIVILISATION. 


329 


use  of  his  limbs,  or  how  to  apply  them  to  climb  the  tree ! ’ &c.  &c. 
Exactly  the  same,  however,  might  be  said  of  the  gorilla  or  the 
chimpanzee,  which  certainly  are  not  the  degraded  descendants  of 
civilised  ancestors. 

Having  thus  very  briefly  considered  the  arguments  brought 
forward  by  Archbishop  Whately,  I will  proceed  to  state,  also  very 
briefly,  some  facts  which  seem  to  militate  against  the  view  advocated 
by  him. 

Firstly,  I will  endeavour  to  show  that  there  are  indications  of 
progress  even  among  savages. 

Secondly,  That  among  the  most  civilised  nations  there  are  traces 
of  original  barbarism. 

The  Archbishop  supposes  that  men  were,  from  the  beginning, 
herdsmen  and  cultivators.  We  know,  however,  that  the  Australians, 
North  and  South  Americans,  and  several  other  more  or  less  savage 
races,  living  in  countries  eminently  suited  to  our  domestic  animals, 
and  to  the  cultivation  of  cereals,  were  yet  entirely  ignorant  both  of 
the  one  and  the  other.  It  is,  I think,  improbable  that  any  race  of 
men  who  had  once  been  agriculturists  and  herdsmen  should 
entirely  abandon  pursuits  so  easy  and  advantageous ; and  it  is  still 
more  improbable  that,  if  we  accept  Usher’s  very  limited  chronology, 
all  tradition  of  such  a change  should  be  lost.  Moreover,  even  if  in 
the  course  of  time  the  descendants  of  the  present  colonists  in  (say) 
America  or  Australia  were  to  fall  into  such  a state  of  barbarism,  still 
herds  of  wild  cattle,  descended  from  those  imported,  would  probably 
continue  to  live  in  those  countries ; and  even  if  these  were  exter- 
minated, their  skeletons  Would  testify  to  their  previous  existence ; 
whereas,  we  know  that  not  a single  bone  of  the  ox  or  of  the 
domestic  sheep  has  been  found  either  in  Australia  or  in  America. 
The  same  argument  applies  to  the  horse,  since  the  fossil  horse  of 
South  America  did  not  belong  to  the  same  species  as  our  domestic  race. 
So,  again,  in  the  case  of  plants.  We  do  not  know  that  any  of  our 
cultivated  cereals  would  survive  in  a wild  state,  though  it  is  highly 
probable  that,  perhaps  in  a modified  form,  they  would  do  so.  But 
there  are  many  other  plants  which  follow  in  the  train  of  man,  and 
by  which  the  botany  of  South  America,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand, 
has  been  almost  as  profoundly  modified  as  their  ethnology  has  been 
by  the  arrival  of  the  white  man.  The  Maoris  have  a melancholy 
proverb,  that  the  Maoris  disappear  before  the  white  man,  just 
as  the  white  man’s  rat  destroys  the  native  rat,  the  European 


330  ABSENCE  OF  POTTEEY  AND  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


fly  drives  away  the  Maori  fly,  and  the  clover  kills  the  New  Zealand 
fern. 

A very  interesting  paper  on  this  subject,  by  Dr.  Hooker,  whose 
authority  no  one  will  question,  is  contained  in  the  4 Natural  History 
Review  ’ for  1864  : — ‘ In  Australia  and  New  Zealand,’  he  says,  4 for 
instance,  the  noisy  train  of  English  emigration  is  not  more  surely 
doing  its  work,  than  the  stealthy  tide  of  English  weeds,  which  are 
creeping  over  the  surface  of  the  waste,  cultivated,  and  virgin  soil, 
in  annually  increasing  numbers  of  genera,  species,  and  individuals. 
Apropos  of  this  subject,  a correspondent,  W.  T.  Locke  Travers,  Esq., 
F.L.S.,  a most  active  New  Zealand  botanist,  writing  from  Canter- 
bury, says,  44  You  would  be  surprised  at  the  rapid  spread  of  European 
and  foreign  plants  in  this  country.  All  along  the  sides  ot  the  main 
lines  of  road  through  the  plains,  a Polygonum  {aviculare\  called 
cow-grass,  grows  most  luxuriantly,  the  roots  sometimes  two  feet  in 
depth,  and  the  plants  spreading  over  an  area  from  four  to  five  feet  in 
diameter.  The  dock  ( Eumex  obtusifolius  or  E.  crispus ) is  to  be 
found  in  every  river-bed,  extending  into  the  valleys  of  the  mountain- 
rivers,  until  these  become  mere  torrents.  The  sow-thistle  is  spread 
all  over  the  country,  growing  luxuriantly  nearly  up  to  6,000  feet. 
The  watercress  increases  in  our  still  rivers  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
threaten  to  choke  them  altogether.”  ’ The  cardoon  of  the  Argentine 
Republics  is  another  remarkable  instance  of  the  same  fact.  We  may 
therefore  safely  assume  that  if  Australia,  New  Zealand,  or  South 
America  had  ever  been  peopled  by  a race  of  herdsmen  and  agri- 
culturists, the  fauna  and  flora  of  those  countries  would  almost 
inevitably  have  given  evidence  of  the  fact,  and  differed  much  from 
the  condition  in  which  they  were  discovered.  We  may  also  assert, 
as  a general  proposition,  that  no  weapons  or  implements  of  metal 
have  ever  been  found  in  any  country  inhabited  by  savages  wholly 
ignorant  of  metallurgy.  A still  stronger  case  is  afforded  by  pot- 
tery. Pottery  is  very  indestructible ; when  used  at  all,  it  is  always 
abundant,  and  it  possesses  two  qualities — those,  namely,  of  being 
easy  to  break  and  yet  difficult  to  destroy,  which  render  it  very 
valuable  in  an  archaeological  point  of  view.  Moreover  it  is,  in  most 
cases,  associated  with  burials.  It  is  therefore  a very  significant 
fact,  that  no  fragment  of  pottery  has  ever  been  found  in  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  or  the  Polynesian  Islands.  It  seems  to  me  extremely 
improbable  that  an  art  so  easy  and  so  useful  should  ever  have  been 
lost  by  any  race  of  men.  Moreover,  this  argument  applies  to  several 


INDICATIONS  OP  PEOGEESS  AMONG  SAVAGES.  331 


other  arts  and  instruments.  I will  mention  only  two,  though 
several  others  might  be  brought  forward.  The  art  of  spinning  and 
the  use  of  the  bow  are  quite  unknown  to  many  races  of  savages,  and 
yet  would  hardly  be  likely  to  have  been  abandoned  when  once 
known.  The  absence  of  architectural  remains  in  these  countries  is 
another  argument.  Archbishop  Whately,  indeed,  claims  this  as 
being  in  his  favour ; but  the  absence  of  monuments  in  a country  is 
surely  indicative  of  barbarism,  and  not  of  civilisation. 

The  mental  condition  of  savages  also  seems  to  me  to  speak 
strongly  against  the  4 degrading  ’ theory.  Not  only  do  the  religions 
of  the  low  races  appear  to  be  indigenous,  but,  as  already  shown1 — 
according  to  many  trustworthy  witnesses,  merchants,  philosophers, 
naval  men,  and  missionaries  alike — there  are  many  races  of  men 
who  are  altogether  destitute  of  a religion.  The  cases  are,  perhaps, 
less  numerous  than  they  are  asserted  to  be ; but  some  of  them  rest 
on  good  evidence.  Yet  I feel  it  difficult  to  believe  that  any  people 
who  once  possessed  a religion  would  ever  entirely  lose  it.  Religion 
appeals  so  strongly  to  the  hopes  and  fears  of  men,  it  takes  so  deep  a 
hold  on  most  minds,  in  its  higher  forms  it  is  so  great  a consolation 
in  times  of  sorrow  and  sickness,  that  I can  hardly  think  any  nation 
would  ever  abandon  it  altogether.  Moreover,  it  produces  a race  of 
men  who  are  interested  in  maintaining  its  influence  and  authority. 
Where,  therefore,  we  find  a race  which  is  now  ignorant  of  religion, 
I cannot  but  assume  that  it  has  always  been  so. 

I will  now  proceed  to  mention  a few  cases  in  which  some 
improvement  does  appear  to  have  taken  place,  though,  as  a general 
rule,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  contact  of  two  races  tends  to 
depress  rather  than  to  raise  the  lower  one.  According  to  Mac- 
Gillivray,  the  Australians  of  port  Essington,  who,  like  all  their 
fellow-countrymen,  had  formerly  bark-canoes  only,  have  now  com- 
pletely abandoned  them  for  others  hollowed  out  of  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  which  they  buy  from  the  Malays.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
Andaman  Islands  have  recently  introduced  outriggers.  The 
Bachapins,  when  visited  by  Burchell,  had  just  commenced  working 
iron.  According  to  Burton,  the  Wajiji  negroes  have  recently 
learned  to  make  brass.  In  Tahiti,  when  visited  by  Captain  Cook, 
the  largest  morai,  or  burial-place,  was  that  erected  for  the  then 
reigning  queen.  The  Tahitians,  also,  had  then  very  recently 

! Ante , p.  121  ; and  Prehistoric  Times,  2nd  ed.  p.  564. 


332  SAVAGES  NOT  INCAPABLE  OF  CIVILISATION. 


abandoned  tbe  habit  of  cannibalism.  Sha-gwaw-koo-sink,  an 
Ottawwaw,  who  lived  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  first  intro- 
duced the  cultivation  of  corn  among  the  Ojibbeways.1  Moreover, 
there  are  certain  facts  which  speak  for  themselves.  Some  of  the 
American  races  cultivated  the  potato.  Now,  the  potato  is  an 
American  plant,  and  we  have  here,  therefore,  clear  evidence  of  a 
step  in  advance  made  by  these  tribes.  Again,  the  Peruvians  had 
domesticated  the  llama.  Those  who  believe  in  the  diversity  of 
species  of  men  may  endeavour  to  maintain  that  the  Peruvians  had 
domestic  llamas  from  the  beginning.  Archbishop  Whately,  however, 
would  not  take  this  line.  He  would,  I am  sure,  admit  that  the  first 
settlers  in  Peru  had  no  llamas,  nor,  indeed,  any  other  domestic 
animal,  excepting,  probably,  the  dog.  The  bark-cloth  of  the 
Polynesians  is  another  case  in  point.  Another  very  strong  case  is 
the  boomerang  of  the  Australians.  This  weapon  is  known  to  no 
other  race  of  men.2  We  cannot  look  on  it  as  a relic  of  primeval 
civilisation,  or  it  would  not  now  be  confined  to  one  race  only.  The 
Australians  cannot  have  learnt  it  from  any  civilised  visitors,  for  the 
same  reason.  It  is,  therefore,  as  it  seems  to  me,  exactly  the  case  we 
want,  and  a clear  proof  of  a step  in  advance — a small  one,  in- 
deed, but  still  a step  made  by  a people  whom  Archbishop  Whately 
would  certainly  admit  to  be  true  savages.  The  Cherokees  afford  a 
remarkable  instance  of  progress,  and  indeed — alone  among  the  North 
American  hunting  races — have  really  become  agriculturists.  As 
long  ago  as  1825,  wuth  a population  of  14,000,  they  possessed 
2,923  ploughs,  7,683  horses,  22,500  black  cattle,  46,700  pigs,  and 
2,566  sheep.  They  had  49  mills,  69  blacksmiths’  shops,  762  looms, 
and  2,486  spinning-wheels.  They  kept  slaves,  having  captured 
several  hundred  negroes  in  Carolina.  Nay,  one  of  them,  a man  of 
the  name  of  Sequoyah,  invented  a system  of  letters,  wdiich,  as  far  as 
the  Cherokee  language  is  concerned,  is  better  than  ours.  Cherokee 
contains  twelve  consonants  and  five  vowels,  with  a nasal  sound  1 ung.’ 
Multiplying,  then,  the  twelve  consonants  by  the  six  vowels,  and  adding 
the  vowels  which  occur  singly,  but  omitting  any  sign  for  ‘mung,’  as 
that  sound  does  not  occur  in  Cherokee,  he  acquired  seventy-seven  cha- 
racters, to  which  he  added  eight — representing  the  sounds  s,  ka,  hna, 
nah,  ta,  te,  ti,  tla — making,  altogether,  eighty-five  characters.  This 
alphabet,  as  already  mentioned,  is  superior  to  ours.  The  characters 
are  indeed  more  numerous,  but,  when  once  learnt,  the  pupil  can  read 


Tanner’s  Narrative,  p.  180. 


2 With  one  doubtful  exception. 


INDIGENOUS  ORIGIN  OF  MEXICAN  CIVILISATION. 


333 


at  once.  It  is  said  that  a boy  can  learn  to  read  Cherokee,  when 
thus  expressed,  in  a few  weeks ; while,  if  ordinary  letters  were  used, 
two  years  would  be  required.  Obviously,  however,  this  alphabet  is 
not  applicable  to  other  languages.  Again,  the  rude  substitutes  for 
writing  found  among  various  tribes — the  wampum  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  the  picture-writing  and  quippu  of  Central 
America — must  be  regarded  as  of  native  origin.  In  the  case  of 
the  system  of  letters  invented  by  Mohammed  Doalu,  a negro  of  the 
Yei  country,  in  West  Africa,  the  idea  was  no  doubt  borrowed 
from  the  missionaries,  although  it  was  worked  out  independently. 
In  other  cases,  however,  I think  this  cannot  be.  Take  the  case 
of  the  Mexicans.  Even  if  we  suppose  that  they  are  descended 
from  a primitively  civilised  race,  and  had  gradually  and  com- 
pletely lost  both  the  use  and  tradition  of  letters — to  my  mind,  a 
most  improbable  hypothesis — still  we  must  look  on  their  system  of 
picture-writing  as  being  of  American  origin.  Even  if  a system  of 
writing  by  letters  could  ever  be  altogether  lost,  which  I doubt,  it 
certainly  could  not  be  abandoned  for  that  of  picture-writing,  which 
is  inferior  in  every  point  of  view.  If  the  Mexicans  had  owed  their 
civilisation,  not  to  their  own  gradual  improvement,  but  to  the  in- 
fluence of  some  European  visitors,  driven  by  stress  of  weather  or  the 
pursuit  of  adventure  on  to  their  coasts,  we  should  have  found  in 
their  system  of  writing,  and  in  other  respects,  unmistakable  proofs 
of  such  an  influence.  Although,  therefore,  we  have  no  historical 
proof  that  the  civilisation  of  America  was  indigenous,  we  have  in 
its  very  character  evidence,  perhaps  more  satisfactory,  than  any  his- 
torical statements  would  be.  The  same  argument  may  be  derived 
from  the  names  used  for  numbers  by  savages.  I feel  great  diffi- 
culty in  supposing  that  any  race  which  had  learned  to  count  up  to 
ten  would  ever  unlearn  a piece  of  knowledge  so  easy  and  yet  so  useful. 
Yet,  as  has  been  already  pointed  out,  few,  perhaps  none,  of  those 
whom  Archbishop  Whately,  would  call  savages  can  count  so  far. 

In  many  cases,  where  the  system  of  numeration  is  at  present  some- 
what more  advanced,  it  bears  on  it  the  stamp  of  native  and  recent 
origin.  Among  civilised  nations,  the  derivations  of  the  numerals 
have  long  since  been  obscured  by  the  gradual  modification  which 
time  effects  in  all  words — especially  those  in  frequent  use,  and  before 
the  invention  of  printing.  And  if  the  numerals  of  savages  were 
relics  of  a former  civilisation,  the  waifs  and  strays  saved  out  of  the 
general  wreck,  they  would  certainly  have  suffered  so  much  from  the 


334  PEOGEESS  AS  INDICATED  BY  LANGUAGE. 

wear  and  tear  of  constant  use,  that  their  derivations  would  be  obscured 
or  wholly  undiscoverable,  instead  of  which  they  are  often  perfectly 
clear  and  obvious,  especially  among  races  whose  arithmetical  attain- 
ments are  lowest.  These  numerals,  then,  are  recent,  because  they 
are  uncorrupted ; and  they  are  indigenous,  because  they  have  an  evi- 
dent meaning  in  the  language  of  the  tribes  by  whom  they  are  used.1 

Again,  as  I have  already  pointed  out,2  many  savage  languages 
are  entirely  deficient  in  such  words  as  4 colour,’  4 tone,’  4 tree,’  Ac., 
having  names  for  each  kind  of  colour,  every  species  of  tree,  but 
not  for  the  general  idea.  I can  hardly  imagine  a nation  losing  such 
words,  if  it  had  once  possessed  them. 

Other  similar  evidence  might  be  extracted  from  the  language  of 
savages ; and  arguments  of  this  nature  are  entitled  to  more  weight 
than  statements  of  travellers,  as  to  the  objects  found  in  use  among 
savages.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  an  early  traveller  mentioned 
the  absence  of  some  art  or  knowledge  among  a race  visited  by  him* 
and  that  later  ones  found  the  natives  in  possession  of  it.  Most  people 
would  hesitate  to  receive  this  as  a clear  evidence  of  progress,  and 
rather  be  disposed  to  suspect  that  later  travellers,  with  perhaps  better 
opportunities,  had  seen  what  their  predecessors  had  overlooked. 
This  is  no  hypothetical  case.  The  early  Spanish  writers  assert  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Ladrone  Islands  were  ignorant  of  the  use  of 
fire.  Later  travellers,  on  the  contrary,  find  them  perfectly  well 
acquainted  with  it.  They  have,  therefore,  almost  unanimously 
assumed,  not  that  the  natives  had  made  a step  in  advance,  but  that 
the  Spaniards  had  made  a mistake ; and  I have  not  brought  this  case 
forward  in  opposition  to  the  assertions  of  Whately,  because  I am 
inclined  to  be  of  this  opinion  myself.  I refer  to  it  here,  however,  as 
showing  how  difficult  it  would  be  to  obtain  satisfactory  evidence  of 
material  progress  among  savages,  even  admitting  that  such  exists. 
The  arguments  derived  from  language,  however,  are  liable  to  no  such 
suspicions,  but  tell  their  own  tale,  and  leave  us  at  liberty  to  draw 
our  conclusions. 

I will  now  very  briefly  refer  to  certain  considerations  which  seem 
to  show  that  even  the  most  civilised  races  were  once  in  a state  of  bar- 
barism. Not  only  throughout  Europe — not  only  in  Italy  and  Greece 
— but  even  in  the  so-called  cradle  of  civilisation  itself,  in  Palestine, 
and  Syria,  in  Egypt,  and  in  India,  the  traces  of  a stone  age  have  been 

1 See  Chapter  VIII.  This  argument  new  words  are  coined  from  time  to  time 

would  be  conclusive  were  it  not  that  in  all  languages.  2 Ch.  VIII. 


TRACES  OF  BARBARISM  IN  CIVILISED  COUNTRIES.  335 


discovered.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  that  these  were  only  the  frag- 
ments of  those  stone  knives,  &c.,  which  we  know  were  used  in 
religious  ceremonies  long  after  metal  was  in  generalise  for  secular 
purposes.  This,  indeed,  resembles  the  attempt  to  "account  for  the 
presence  of  elephants’  bones  in  England  by  supposing  that  they 
were  the  remains  of  elephants  which  might  have  been  brought  over 
by  the  Romans.  But  why  were  stone  knives  used  by  the  Egyptian 
and  Jewish  priests?  evidently  because  they  had  been  at  one  time  in 
general  use,  and  there  was  a feeling  of  respect  which  made  them 
reluctant  to  use  the  new  substance  in  religious  ceremonies. 

There  are,  moreover,  other  considerations;  for  instance,  the  gradual  „ 
improvement  in  the  relation  between  the  sexes,  and  the  development 
of  correct  ideas  on  the  subject  of  relationship,  seem  to  me  strongly 
to  point  to  the  same  conclusion.  . 

In  the  publications  of  the  Nova  Scotian  ‘Institute  of  Natural 
Science  ’ is  an  interesting  paper,  by  Mr.  Haliburton,  on  4 The  Unity 
of  the  Human  Race,  proved  by  the  universality  of  certain  super- 
stitions connected  with  sneezing.’  4 Once  establish,’  he  says,  4 that 
a large  number  of  arbitrary  customs — such  as  could  not  have 
naturally  suggested  themselves  to  all  men  at  all  times — are  uni- 
versally observed,  and  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  they  are 
primitive  customs  which  have  been  inherited  from  a common  source, 
and,  if  inherited,  that  they  owe  their  origin  to  an  era  anterior  to  the 
dispersion  of  the  human  race.’  To  justify  such  a conclusion,  the 
custom  must  be  demonstrably  arbitrary.  The  belief  that  two  and 
two  make  four,  the  decimal  system  of  numeration,  and  similar  co- 
incidences of  course  prove  nothing ; but  I very  much  doubt  the  ex- 
istence of  any  universal,  or  even  general,  custom  of  a clearly  arbitrary 
character.  The  fact  is,  that  many  things  appear  to  us  arbitrary  and 
strange  because  we  live  in  a condition  so  different  from  that  in  which 
they  originated  . Many  things  seem  natural  to  a savage  which  to  ns 
appear  absurd  and  unaccountable. 

Mr.  Haliburton  brings  forward,  as  his  strongest  case,  the  habit  of 
saying  4 God  bless  you  !’  or  some  equivalent  expression,  when  a 
person  sneezes.  He  shows  that  this  custom,  which,  I admit,  appears 
to  us  at  first  sight  both  odd  and  arbitrary,  is  ancient  and  widely  ex- 
tended. It  is  mentioned  by  Homer,  Aristotle,  Apuleius,  Pliny,  and 
the  Jewish  rabbis,  and  has  been  observed  in  Koordistan,  in  Florida, 
in  Otaheite,  and  in  the  Tonga  Islands.  It  is  not  arbitrary,  however, 
and  it  does  not,  therefore,  come  under  his  rule. 

A belief  in  invisible  beings  is  very  general  among  savages ; and 


336 


ARBITRARY  CUSTOMS. 


while  they  think  it  unnecessary  to  account  for  blessings,  they 
attribute  any  misfortune  to  the  ill-will  of  these  mysterious  beings. 
Many  savages  regard  disease  as  a case  of  possession.  In  cases  of 
illness,  they  do  not  suppose  that  the  organs  are  themselves  affected, 
but  that  they  are  being  devoured  by  a god ; hence  their  medicine- 
men do  not  try  to  cure  the  disease,  but  to  extract  the  demon.  Some 
tribes  have  a distinct  deity  for  every  ailment.  The  Australians  do 
not  believe  in  natural  death.  When  a man  dies,  they  take  it 
for  granted  that  he  has  been  destroyed  by  witchcraft,  and  the 
only  doubt  is,  who  is  the  culprit  ? Now,  a people  in  this  state 
of  mind — and  we  know  that  almost  every  race  of  men  is  passing, 
or  has  passed,  through  this  stage  of  development — seeing  a man 
sneeze,  would  naturally,  and  almost  inevitably,  suppose  that  he 
was  attacked  and  shaken  by  some  invisible  being ; equally  natural 
is  the  impulse  to  appeal  for  aid  to  some  other  invisible  being  more 
powerful  than  the  first. 

Mr.  Haliburton  admits  that  a sneeze  is  1 an  omen  of  impending 
evil ; ’ but  it  is  more — it  is  evidence,  which  to  the  savage  mind  would 
seem  conclusive,  that  the  sneezer  was  possessed  by  some  evil-dis- 
posed spirit ; evidently,  therefore,  this  case,  on  which  Mr.  Haliburton 
so  much  relies,  is  by  no  means  an  1 arbitrary  custom,’  and  does  not, 
therefore,  fulfil  the  conditions  which  he  himself  laid  down.  He  has 
incidentally  brought  forward  some  other  instances,  most  of  which 
labour  under  the  disadvantage  of  proving  too  much.  Thus,  he 
instances  the  existence  of  a festival  in  honour  of  the  dead,  1 at  or  near 
the  beginning  of  November.’  Such  a feast  is  very  general ; and  as 
there  are  many  more  races  holding  such  a festival  than  there  are 
months  in  the  year,  it  is  evident  that,  in  several  cases,  they  must  be 
held  together.  But  Mr.  Haliburton  goes  on  to  say  : 1 The  Spaniards 
were  very  naturally  surprised  at  finding  that,  while  they  were  cele- 
brating a solemn  mass  for  All  Souls,  on  November  22,  the 
heathen  Peruvians  were  also  holding  their  annual  commemoration  of 
the  dead.’  This  curious  coincidence  would,  however,  not  only  prove 
the  existence  of  such  a festival,  as  he  says,  1 before  the  dispersion  ’ 
(which  Mr.  Haliburton  evidently  looks  on  as  a definite  event  rather 
than  as  a gradual  process),  but  also  the  ancestors  of  the  Peruvians 
were  at  that  epoch  sufficiently  advanced  to  form  a calendar,  and 
that  their  descendants  were  able  to  keep  it  unchanged  down  to 
the  present  time.  This,  however,  we  know  was  not  the  case.  Again 
Mr.  Haliburton  says : 1 The  belief  in  Scotland  and  equatorial 


UNITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  FACE. 


337 


Africa  is  found  to  be  almost  precisely  identical  respecting  there 
being  ghosts,  even  of  the  living,  who  are  exceedingly  troublesome 
and  pugnacious,  and  can  be  sometimes  killed  by  a silver  bullet.’ 
Here  we  certainly  have  what  seems  at  first  sight  to  be  an  arbitrary 
belief ; but  if  it  proves  that  there  was  a belief  in  ghosts  of  the  living 
before  the  dispersion,  it  also  proves  that  silver  bullets  were  then  in 
use.  This  illustration  is,  I think,  a very  interesting  one  ; because 
it  shows  that  similar  ideas  in  distant  countries  owe  their  origin,  not 
1 to  an  era  before  the  dispersion  of  the  human  race,’  but  to  the  fun- 
damental similarity  of  the  human  mind.  While  I do  not  believe  that 
similar  customs  in  different  nations  are  1 inherited  from  a common 
source,’  or  are  necessarily  primitive,  I certainly  do  see  in  them  an 
argument  for  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  which,  however  (be  it 
remarked),  is  not  necessarily  the  same  thing  as  the  descent  from  a 
single  pair. 

On  the  other  hand,  I have  attempted  to  show  that  ideas,  which 
might  at  first  sight  appear  arbitrary  and  unaccountable,  arise  naturally 
in  very  distinct  nations  as  they  arrive  at  a similar  stage. of  progress  ; 
and  it  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  be  extremely  cautious  in  using  such 
customs  or  ideas  as  implying  any  special  connection  between  different 
races  of  men. 


PART  II.1 

At  the  Dundee  Meeting  of  the  British  Association,  I had  the 
honour  of  reading  a Paper  ‘ On  the  Origin  of  Civilisation  and  the 
Primitive  Condition  of  Man,’  in  answer  to  certain  opinions  and  argu- 
ments brought  forward  by  the  late  Archbishop  of  Dublin.  The 
views  therein  advocated  met  with  little  opposition  at  the  time.  The 
then  Presidents  of  the  Ethnological  and  Anthropological  Societies 
both  expressed  their  concurrence  in  the  conclusions  to  which  I 
arrived ; and  the  Memoir  was  printed  in  extenso  by  the  Association. 
It  has,  however,  subsequently  been  attacked  at  some  length  by  the 
Duke  of  Argyll  ;2  and  as  the  Duke  has  in  some  cases  strangely 

1 The  substance  of  this  was  read  2 Good  Word£ : March,  April,  May, 

before  the  British  Association,  during  and  June,  1868.  Also  since  repub- 
their  meeting  at  Exeter  in  1869.  lished  in  a separate  form. 


333  MENTAL  DIFFERENCES  IN  DIFFERENT  RACES. 


misunderstood  me,  and  in  others  (I  am  sure  unintentionally)  misrepre- 
sented my  views — as,  moreover,  the  subject  is  one  of  great  interest 
and  importance — I am  anxious  to  make  some  remarks  in  reply  to 
his  Grace’s  criticisms.  The  Duke  has  divided  his  work  into  four 
chapters : — I.  Introduction  ; II.  The  Origin  of  Man  ; III.  and  IY. 
His  Primitive  Condition. 

I did  not  in  my  first  Memoir,  nor  do  I now  propose  to,  discuss 
the  subjects  dealt  with  in  the  first  half  of  the  Duke’s  1 Speculations.’ 
I will  only  observe  that  in  attacking  Prof.  Huxley  for  proposing  to 
unite  the  Bimana  and  Quadrumana  in  one  Order,  1 Primates,’  the 
Duke  uses  a dangerous  argument ; for  if,  on  account  of  his  great 
mental  superiority  over  the  Quadrumana,  Man  forms  an  Order  or  even 
Class  by  himself,  it  will  be  impossible  any  longer  to  regard  all  men 
as  belonging  to  one  species  or  even  genus.  The  Duke  is  in  error 
when  he  supposes  that  1 mental  powers  and  instincts  ’ afford  tests  of 
easy  application  in  other  parts  of  the  animal  kingdom.  On  the  con- 
trary, genera  with  the  most  different  mental  powers  and  instincts 
are  placed,  not  only  in  the  same  Order,  but  even  in  the  same  family. 
Thus  our  most  learned  hymenopterologist  (Mr.  Frederick  Smith) 
classes  the  Hive-bee,  the  Humble-bee,  and  the  parasitic  Apathus,  in 
the  same  subfamily  of  Adidas.  It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  illogical  to 
separate  man  zoologically  from  the  other  primates  on  the  ground  of 
his  mental  superiority,  and  yet  to  maintain  the  specific  unity  of  the 
human  race,  notwithstanding  the  mental  differences  between  different 
races  of  men. 

I do  not,  however,  propose  to  discuss  the  origin  of  man,  and  pass 
on  therefore  at  once  to  the  Duke’s  third  chapter ; and  here  I congra- 
tulate myself  at  the  outset  that  the  result  of  my  paper  has  been  to 
satisfy  him  that  1 Whately’s  argument,1  though  strong  at  some  points, 
is  at  others  open  to  assault,  and  that,  as  a whole,  the  subject  now 
requires  to  be  differently  handled,  and  regarded  from  a different 
point  of  view.’  L I do  not,  therefore,’  he  adds  in  a subsequent  page,2 
‘ agree  with  the  late  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  that  we  are  entitled  to 
assume  it  as  a fact  that,  as  regards  the  mechanical  arts,  no  savage 
race  has  ever  raised  itself.’  And  again:  3 ‘The  aid  which  man  had 
from  his  Creator  may  possibly  have  been  nothing  more  than  the  aid 
of  a body  and  of  a mind,  so  marvellously  endowed,  that  thought  was 
an  instinct,  and  contrivance  a necessity.’ 


1 Good  Words,  1868,  p.  156. 


* Ibid.  June,  p.  386. 


* P.  3J?2. 


THE  WEAPONS  OP  MONKEYS. 


339 


I feel,  however,  less  satisfaction  on  this  account  than  would  other- 
wise have  been  the  case,  because  it  seems  to  me  that,  though  the 
Duke  acknowledges  the  Archbishop’s  argument  to  be  untenable, 
he  practically  reproduces  it  with  but  a slight  alteration  and  some- 
what protected  by  obscurity.  What  Whately  called  4 instruction  ’ 
the  Duke  terms  4 instinct and  he  considers  that  man  had  instincts 
which  afforded  all  that  was  necessary  as  a starting  ground.  He 
admits,  however,  that  monkeys  use  stones  to  break  nuts;  he  might 
have  added  that  they  throw  sticks  at  intruders.  But  he  says, 
4 between  these  rudiments  of  intellectual  perception  and  the  next 
step  (that  of  adapting  and  fashioning  an  instrument  for  a particular 
purpose)  there  is  a gulf  in  which  lies  the  whole  immeasurable  dis- 
tance between  man  and  brutes.’  I cannot  agree  with  the  Duke  in 
this  opinion,  nor  indeed  does  he  agree  with  himself,  for  he  adds, 
in  the  very  same  page,  that — 4 The  wielding  of  a stick  is,  in  all 
probability,  an  act  equally  of  primitive  intuition,  and  from  this  to 
throwing  of  a stick,  and  the  use  of  javelins,  is  an  easy  and  natural 
transition.’ 

He  continues  as  follows  : — 4 Simple  as  these  acts  are,  they  involve 
both  physical  and  mental  powers  which  are  capable  of  all  the 
developments  which  we  see  in  the  most  advanced  industrial  arts. 
These  acts  involve  the  instinctive  idea  of  the  constancy  of  natural 
causes  and  the  capacity  of  thought,  which  gives  men  the  conviction 
that  what  has  happened  under  given  conditions  will,  under  the  same 
conditions,  always  occur  again.’  On  these,  he  says,  4 as  well  as  on 
other  grounds,  I have  never  attached  much  importance  to  Whately’s 
argument.’  These  are  indeed  important  admissions,  and  amount  to 
a virtual  abandonment  of  Whately’s  argument. 

The  Duke  blames  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  for  not  having 
defined  the  terms  4 civilisation  ’ and  4 barbarism.’  It  seems  to  me 
that  Whately  illustrated  his  meaning  better  by  examples  than  he 
could  have  done  by  any  definition.  The  Duke  does  not  seem  to  have 
felt  any  practical  difficulty  from  the  omission ; and  it  is  remark- 
able that,  after  all,  he  himself  omits  to  define  the  terms,  thus  being 
himself  guilty  of  the  very  omission  for  which  he  blames  Whately.  In 
truth,  it  would  be  impossible  in  a few  words  to  define  the  complex 
organisation  which  we  call  civilisation,  or  to  state  in  a few  words 
how  a civilised  differs  from  a barbarous  people.  Indeed,  to  define 
civilisation  as  it  should  be,  is  surely  as  yet  impossible,  since 
we  are  far  indeed  from  having  solved  the  problem  how  we  may 


340 


TRUE  NATURE  OF  BARBARISM. 


best  avail  ourselves  of  our  opportunities,  and  enjoy  the  beautiful 
world  in  which  we  live. 

As  regards  barbarism,  the  Duke  observes,  4 All  T desire  to  point 
out  here  is,  that  there  is  no  necessary  connection  between  a state  of 
mere  childhood  in  respect  to  knowledge  and  a state  of  utter  bar- 
barism, words  which,  if  they  have  any  definite  meaning  at  all,  imply 
the  lowest  moral  as  well  as  the  lowest  intellectual  condition.’  To 
every  proposition  in  this  remarkable  sentence  I entirely  demur. 
There  is,  I think,  a very  intimate  connection  between  knowledge  and 
civilisation.  Knowledge  and  barbarism  cannot  coexist — knowledge 
and  civilisation  are  inseparable. 

Again,  the  words  i utter  barbarism  ’ have  certainly  a very  de- 
finite signification,  but  as  certainly,  I think,  not  that  which  the  Duke 
attributes  to  them.  The  lowest  moral  and  the  lowest  intellectual 
condition  are  not  only,  in  my  opinion,  not  inseparable,  they  are  not 
even  compatible.  Morality  implies  responsibility,  and  consequently 
intelligence.  The  lower  animals  are  neither  moral  nor  immoral.  The 
lower  races  of  men  may  be,  and  are,  vicious;  but  allowances  must 
be  made  for  them.  On  the  contrary  ( corruptio  optimi , pessima  est)% 
the  higher  the  mental  power,  the  more  splendid  the  intellectual  en- 
dowment, the  deeper  is  the  moral  degradation  of  him  who  wastes  the 
one  and  abuses  the  other. 

On  the  whole,  the  fair  inference  seems  to  be  that  savages  are  more 
innocent,  and  yet  more  criminal,  than  civilised  races ; they  are  by 
no  means  in  the  lowest  possible  moral  condition,  nor  are  they  capa- 
ble of  the  higher  virtues. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  paper  I laid  much  stress  on  the  fact  that  even 
in  the  most  civilised  nations  we  find  traces  of  early  barbarism.  The 
Duke  maintains,  on  the  contrary,  that  these  traces  afford  no  proof,  or 
even  presumption,  that  barbarism  was  the  primeval  condition  of 
man.  He  urges  that  all  such  customs  may  have  been  not  primeval, 
but  medieval;  and  he  continues:  1 Yet  this  assumption  runs 
through  all  Sir  J.  Lubbock’s  arguments.  Wherever  a brutal  or 
savage  custom  prevails,  it  is  regarded  as  a sample  of  the  original 
condition  of  mankind.  And  this  in  the  teeth  of  facts  which  prove 
that  many  of  such  customs,  not  only  may  have  been,  but  must  have 
been,  the  result  of  corruption.’ 

Fortunately,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  defend  myself  against  this 
criticism,  because  in  the  very  next  sentence  the  Duke  directly  con- 
tradicts himself,  and  shows  that  I have  not  done  that  of  which  he 


SEQUENCE  OF  CUSTOMS. 


341 


accuses  me.  He  continues  his  argument  thus  : — ‘Take  cannibalism 
as  one  of  these.  Sir  J.  Lubbock  seems  to  admit  that  this  loathsome 
practice  was  not  primeval.’  Thus,  by  way  of  proof  that  I regard  all 
brutal  customs  as  primeval,  he  states,  and  correctly  states,  that  I do 
not  regard  cannibalism  as  primeval.  It  would  be  difficult,  I think, 
to  find  a more  curious  case  of  self-contradiction. 

The  Duke  refers  particularly  to  the  practice  of  Bride-catching, 
which  he  states  ‘ cannot  possibly  have  been  primeval.’  He  omits, 
however,  to  explain  why  not ; and  of  course,  assuming  the  word 
‘ primeval  ’ to  cover  a period  of  some  length,  I am  of  opinion, 
in  opposition  to  his  Grace,  that  capture  was  the  early  form  of 
marriage  in  our  sense  of  the  term.  As  the  Duke  correctly  ob- 
serves, I laid  some  stress  on  this  custom,  and  am  sorry  that  his 
Grace  here  meets  me  with  a mere  contradiction,  instead  of  an  argu- 
ment. It  may  perhaps,  however,  be  as  well  to  state  emphatically 
that  all  brutal  customs  are  not,  in  my  opinion,  primeval.  Human 
sacrifices,  for  instance,  were,  I think,  certainly  not  so. 

My  argument,  however,  was  that  there  is  a definite  sequence  of 
habits  and  ideas;  that  certain  customs  (some  brutal,  others  not  so), 
which  we  find  lingering  on  in  civilised  communities,  are  a page  of 
past  history,  and  tell  a tale  of  former  barbarism,  rather  on  account 
of  their  simplicity  than  of  their  brutality,  though  many  of  them  are 
brutal  enough.  Again,  no  one  would  go  back  from  letter- writing 
to  the  use  of  the  quippu  or  hieroglyphics ; no  one  would  abandon 
the  fire-drill  and  obtain  fire  by  hand-friction. 

Believing,  as  he  does,  that  the  primitive  condition  of  man  was  one 
of  civilisation,  the  Duke  accounts  for  the  existence  of  savages  by 
the  remark  that  they  are  ‘ mere  outcasts  of  the  human  race,’  descen- 
dants of  weak  tribes  which  were  ‘ driven  to  the  woods  and  rocks.’ 
But  until  the  historical  period  these  ‘ mere  outcasts  ’ occupied  almost 
the  whole  of  North  and  South  America,  all  Northern  Europe,  the 
greater  part  of  Africa,  the  great  continent  of  Australia,  a large  part 
of  Asia,  and  the  beautiful  islands  of  the  Pacific.  Moreover,  until 
modified  by  man  the  great  continents  were  either  in  the  condition  of 
open  plains,  such  as  heaths,  downs,  prairies,  and  tundras,  or  they 
were  mere  ‘ woods  and  rocks.’  Now  everything  tends  to  show  that 
mere  woods  and  rocks  exercised  on  the  whole  a favourable  influence. 
Inhabitants  of  great  plains  rarely  rose  beyond  the  pastoral  stage.  In 
America  the  most  advanced  civilisation  was  attained,  not  by  the 
occupants  of  the  fertile  valleys,  not  along  the  banks  of  the  Miss's- 


342 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  MANKIND. 


sippi  or  the  Amazon,  but  among  the  rocks  and  woods  of  Mexico  and 
Peru.  Scotland  itself  is  a brilliant  proof  that  woods  and  rocks  are 
compatible  with  a high  state  of  civilisation. 

My  idea  of  the  manner  in  which,  and  the  causes  owing  to  which, 
man  spread  over  the  earth,  is  very  different  from  that  of  the  Duke. 
He  evidently  supposes  that  new  countries  have  been  occupied  by 
weaker  races,  driven  there  by  more  powerful  tribes.  This  I believe 
to  be  an  entirely  erroneous  notion.  Take  for  instance  our  own 
island.  We  are  sometimes  told  that  the  Celts  were  driven  by  the 
Saxons  into  Wales  and  Cornwall.  On  the  contrary,  however,  we 
know  that  Wales  and  Cornwall  were  both  occupied  long  before  the 
Saxons  landed  on  our  shores.  Even  as  regards  the  rest  of  the 
country,  it  would  not  be  correct  to  say  that  the  Celts  were  driven 
away  ; they  were  either  destroyed  or  absorbed. 

The  gradual  extension  of  the  human  race  has  not  in  my  opinion 
been  effected  by  force  acting  on  any  given  race  from  without,  but  by 
internal  necessity,  and  the  pressure  of  population ; by  peaceful,  not 
by  hostile  force ; by  prosperity,  not  by  misfortune.  I believe  that 
of  old,  as  now,  founders  of  new  colonies  were  men  of  energy  and 
enterprise ; animated  by  hope  and  courage,  not  by  fear  and  despair ; 
that  they  were,  in  short,  anything  but  mere  outcasts  of  the  human 
race. 

The  Duke  relies  a good  deal  on  the  case  of  America.  ‘ Is  it  not 
true,’  he  asks,  4 that  the  lowest  and  rudest  tribes  in  the  population  of 
the  globe  have  been  found  at  the  furthest  extremities  of  its  great 
continents,  and  in  the  distant  islands  which  would  be  the  last  refuge 
of  the  victims  of  violence  and  misfortune  ? “ The  New  World”  is 

the  continent  which  presents  the  most  uninterrupted  stretch  of  habi- 
table land  from  the  highest  northern  to  the  lowest  southern  latitude. 
On  the  extreme  north  we  have  the  Esquimaux,  or  Inuit  race,  main- 
taining human  life  under  conditions  of  extremest  hardship,  even 
amid  the  perpetual  ice  of  the  Polar  Seas.  And  what  a life  it  is  ! 
Watching  at  the  blow-hole  of  a seal  for  many  hours,  in  a tempera- 
ture of  75°  below  freezing  point,  is  the  constant  work  of  the  Inuit 
hunter.  And  when  at  last  his  prey  is  struck,  it  is  his  luxury  to  feast 
upon  the  raw  blood  and  blubber.  To  civilised  man  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  conceive  a life  so  wretched,  and  in  many  respects  so 
brutal  as  the  life  led  by  this  race  during  the  long  lasting  night  of 
the  arctic  winter.’ 

To  this  question,  I confidently  reply,  No,  it  is  not  true ; it  is  not 
true  as  a general  proposition  that  the  lowest  race^  are  found  furthest 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  EXTERNAL  CONDITIONS.  343 

from  the  centres  of  continents  ; it  is  not  true  in  the  particular  case 
of  America.  The  natives  of  Brazil,  possessing  a country  of  almost 
unrivalled  fertility,  surrounded  by  the  most  luxuriant  vegetation, 
watered  by  magnificent  rivers,  and  abounding  in  animal  life,  were 
yet  unquestionably  lower  than  the  Esquimaux,1  whom  the  Duke 
pities  and  despises  so  much.2  More,  indeed,  I think  than  the  case 
requires.  Our  own  sportsmen  willingly  undergo  great  hardships  in 
pursuit  of  game ; and  hunting  in  reality  possesses  a keen  zest  which 
it  can  never  attain  when  it  is  a mere  sport. 

‘ When  we  rise,’  says  Mr.  Hill,3  4 twice  or  thrice  a day  from  a full 
meal,  we  cannot  be  in  a right  frame  either  of  body  or  mind  for  the 
proper  enjoyments  of  the  chase.  Our  sluggish  spirits  then  want 
the  true  incentive  to  action,  which  should  be  hunger,  v^ith  the  hope 
before  us  of  filling  a craving  stomach.  I could  remember  once 
before  being  for  a long  time  dependent  upon  the  gun  for  food,  and 
feeling  a touch  of  the  charm  of  a savage  life  (for  every  condition 
of  humanity  has  its  good  as  well  as  its  evil),  but  never  till  now  did 
I fully  comprehend  the  attachment  of  the  sensitive,  not  drowsy 
Indian.’ 

Esquimaux  life,  indeed,  as  painted  by  gur  Arctic  voyagers,  is  by 
no  means  so  miserable  as  the  Duke  supposes.  Capt.  Parry,  for 
instance,  gives  the  following  picture  of  an  Esquimaux  hut.  4 In  the 
few  opportunities  we  had  in  putting  their  hospitality  to  the  test  we 
had  every  reason  to  be  pleased  with  them*  Both  as  to  food  and 
accommodation,  the  best  they  had  were  always  at  our  service ; and 
their  attention  both  in  kind  and  degree,  was  everything  that  hospi- 
tality and  even  good  breeding  could  dictate.  The  kindly  offices  of 
drying  and  mending  our  clothes,  cooking  our  provisions  and  thawing 
snow  for  our  drink,  were  performed  by  the  women  with  an  obliging 
cheerfulness  which  we  shall  not  easily  forget,  and  which  demanded 
its  due  share  of  our  admiration  and  esteem.  While  thus  their  guest 
I have  passed  an  evening  not  only  with  comfort,  but  with  extreme 
gratification ; for  with  the  women  working  and  singing,  their 
husbands  quietly  mending  their  lines,  the  children  playing  before  the 
door,  and  the  pot  boiling  over  the  blaze  of  a cheerful  lamp,  one  might 

1 See  Martius,  p.  77.  Dr.  Rae  ranks  life  is  possible  on  the  borders  of  a 

the  Esquimaux  above  the  Red  Indians,  frozen  sea/  he  forgot  for  the  moment 
Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1866.  the  inhabitants  of  Lapland  and  of 

2 When  the  Duke  states  that  Siberia. 

‘neither  an  agricultural  nor  pastoral  3 Travels  in  Siberia,  vol.  ii.  p.  288. 


344 


THE  ESQUIMAUX. 


well  forget  for  the  time  that  an  Esquimaux  hut  was  the  scene  of  this 
domestic  comfort  and  tranquillity  ; and  I can  safely  affirm  with  Cart- 
wright that,  while  thus  lodged  beneath  their  roof,  I know  no  people 
whom  I would  more  confidently  trust,  as  respects  either  my  person 
or  my  property,  than  the  Esquimaux.’  Dr.  Kae,1  who  had  ample 
means  of  judging,  tells  us  that  the  Eastern  Esquimaux  ‘are  sober, 
steady,  and  faithful.  ....  Provident  of  their  own  property  and 

careful  of  that  of  others  when  under  their  charge Socially 

they  are  a lively,  cheerful,  and  chatty  people,  fond  of  associating  with 
each  other  and  with  strangers,  with  whom  they  soon  become  on 

friendly  terms,  if  kindly  treated In  their  domestic  relations 

they  are  exemplary.  The  man  is  an  obedient  son,  a good  husband, 

and  a kind  father The  children  when  young  are  docile.  . . 

The  girls  have  their  dolls,  in  making  dresses  and  shoes  for  which 
they  amuse  and  employ  themselves.  The  boys  have  miniature 

bows,  arrows,  and  spears When  grown  up  they  are  dutiful 

to  their  parents Orphan  children  are  readily  adopted  and 

well  cared  for  until  they  are  able  to  provide  for  themselves.’  He 
concludes  by  saying,  ‘ the  more  I saw  of  the  Esquimaux  the  higher 
was  the  opinion  I formed  of  them.’ 

Again,  Hooper2  thus  describes  a visit  to  an  Asiatic  Esquimaux 
belonging  to  the  Tuski  race  : ‘ Upon  reaching  Mooldooyah’s  habita- 
tion, we  found  Captain  Moore  installed  at  his  ease,  with  every  pro- 
vision made  for  comfort  and  convenience.  Water  and  venison  were 
suspended  over  the  lamps  in  preparation  for  dinner ; skins  nicely 
arranged  for  couches,  and  the  hangings  raised  to  admit  the  cool  air ; 
our  baggage  was  bestowed  around  us  with  care  and  in  quiet,  and  we 
were  free  to  take  our  own  way  of  enjoying  such  unobtrusive  hospi- 
tality without  a crowd  of  eager  gazers  watching  us  like  lions  at 
feed ; nor  were  we  troubled  by  importunate  begging  such  as  de- 
tracted from  the  dignity  of  Metra’s  station,  which  was  undoubtedly 
high  in  the  tribe.’ 

I know  no  sufficient  reason  for  supposing  that  the  Esquimaux  were 
ever  more  advanced  than  they  are  now.  The  Duke  indeed  considers 
that  before  they  were  ‘ driven  by  wars  and  migrations  * (a  somewhat 
curious  expression)  they  ‘ may  have  been  nomads  living  on  their 
docks  and  herds ; ’ and  he  states  broadly  that  ‘ the  rigours  of  the 
region  they  now  inhabit  have  reduced  this  people  to  the  condition  in 


1 Trans.  Eth.  Soc.  1866,  p.  138. 


2 The  Tents  of  the  Tuski,  p.  102. 


ORIGINAL  AND  UNIVERSAL  BARBARISM.  345 

which  we  now  see  them a conclusion  for  which  I know  no  reason, 
particularly  as  the  Tinne  and  other  Indians  living  to  the  south  of  the 
Esquimaux  are  ruder  and  more  barbarous. 

It  is  my  belief  that  the  great  continents  were  already  occupied  by  a 
widespread,  though  sparse  population,  when  man  was  no  more  ad- 
vanced than  the  lowest  savages  of  to-day ; and  although  I am  far  from 
believing  that  the  various  degrees  of  civilisation  which  now  occur 
can  be  altogether  accounted  fori  by  the  external  circumstances  as 
they  afi  present  exist,  still  these  circumstances  seem  to  me  to  throw 
much  light  on  the  very  different  amount  of  progress  which  has  been 
attained  by  different  races. 

In  referring  to  the  backwardness  of  the  aboriginal  Australians,  I 
had  observed  that  New  Holland  contained  1 neither  cereals  nor  any 
animals  which  could  be  domesticated  with  advantage,’  upon  which 
the  Duke  remarks  that  ‘ Sir  John  Lubbock  urges  in  reply  to 
Whately  that  the  low  condition  of  Australian  savages  affords  no 
proof  whatever  that  they  could  not  raise  themselves,  because  the 
materials  of  improvement  are  wanting  in  that  country  which  affords 
no  cereals,  nor  animals  capable  of  useful  domestication.  But  Sir  J. 
Lubbpck  does  pot  perceive  that  the  same  argument  which  shows 
how  improvement  could  not  possibly  be  attained,  shows  also  how 
degradation  could  not  possibly  be  avoided.  If  with  the  few  re- 
sources of  the  country  it  was  impossible  for  savages  to  rise,  it 
follows  that  with  those  same  resources  it  would  be  impossible  for 
a half-civilised  race  not  to  fall.  And  as  in  this  case  again,  unless 
we  are  to  suppose  a separate  Adam  and  Eve  for  Vah  Diemen’s  Land, 
its  natives  must  originally  have  come  from  countries  where  both  corn 
and  cattle  were  to  be  had,  it  follows  that  the  low  condition  of  these 
natives  is  much  more  likely  to  have  been  the  result  of  degradation 
than  of  primeval  barbarism.’ 

But  my  argument  was  that  a half-civilised  race  would  have 
brought  other  resources  with  them.  The  dog  was,  I think,  certainly 
introduced  into  that  country  by  man,  who  would  have  brought  with 
him  other  animals  also  if  he  had  possessed  any.  The  same  argument 
applies  to  plants ; the  Polynesians  carried  the  sweet  potato  and  the 
yam,  as  well  as  the  dog,  with  them  from  island  to  island;  and 
even  if  the  first  settlers  in  Australia  happened  to  have  been  with- 
out them,  and  without  the  means  of  acquiring  them,  they  would 
certainly  have  found  some  native  plants  which  would  have  been 

16 


346  SUPPOSED  INEVITABILITY  OF  DEGRADATION. 


worth  the  trouble  of  cultivation,  if  they  had  attained  to  the  agricul- 
tural stage. 

This  argument  applies  with  even  more  force  to  pottery ; if  the 
first  settlers  in  Australia  were  acquainted  with  this  art,  I can  see  no 
reason  why  they  should  suddenly  and  completely  have  lost  it. 

The  Duke,  indeed,  appears  to  maintain  that  though  the  natives  of 
Van  Diemen’s  Land  (whom  he  evidently  regards  as  belonging  to  the 
same  race  as  the  Australians  and  Polynesians,  from  both  of  which 
they  are  entirely  distinct)  1 must  originally  have  come  from  countries 
where  both  com  and  cattle  were  to  be  had,*  still  1 degradation  could 
not  possibly  be  avoided.’  This  seems  to  be  the  natural  inference 
from  the  Duke’s  language,  and  suggests  a very  gloomy  feature  for 
our  Australian  fellow-countrymen.  The  position  is,  however,  so 
manifestly  untenable,  when  once  put  into  plain  language,  that  I 
think  it  unnecessary  to  dwell  longer  on  this  part  of  the  subject. 
Even  the  Duke  himself  will  hardly  maintain  that  our  colonists  must 
fall  back  because  the  natives  did  not  improve.  Yet  he  extends  and 
generalises  this  argument  in  a subsequent  paragraph,  saying,  1 there 
is  hardly  a single  fact  quoted  by  Sir  J.  Lubbock  in  favour  of  his  own 
theory,  which  when  viewed  in  connection  with  the  same  indisputable 
principles,  does  not  tell  against  that  theory  rather  than  in  its  favour.’ 
So  far  from  being  ‘ indisputable,’  the  principle  that  when  savages 
remained  savages,  civilised  settlers  must  descend  to  the  same  level, 
appears  to  me  entirely  erroneous.  On  reading  the  above  passage, 
however,  I passed  on  with  much  interest  to  see  which  of  my  facts  I 
had  so  strangely  misread. 

The  great  majority  of  facts  connected  with  savage  life  have  no 
perceptible  bearing  on  the  question,  and  I must  therefore  have  been 
not  only  very  stupid,  but  also  singularly  unfortunate,  if  of  all  those 
quoted  by  me  in  support  of  my  argument  there  was  1 hardly  a single 
one,’  which  read  aright  was  not  merely  irrelevant,  but  actually  told 
against  me.  In  support  of  his  statement  the  Duke  gives  three  illus- 
trations, but  it  is  remarkable  that  not  one  of  these  three  cases  was 
referred  to  by  me  in  the  present  discussion,  or  in  favour  of  my 
theory.  If  all  the  facts  on  which  I relied  told  against  me,  it  is 
curious  that  the  Duke  should  not  give  an  instance.  The  three  illus- 
trations which  he  quotes  from  my  1 Prehistoric  Times  ’ seem  to  me 
irrelevant,  but  as  the  Duke  thinks  otherwise,  and  many  may  agree 
with  him,  it  will  be  worth  while  to  see  how  he  uses  them,  and 


SURVIVAL  OF  CUSTOMS. 


347 


to  enquire  whether  they  give  any  real  support  to  his  argument.  As 
already  mentioned,  they  are  three  in  number. 

1 Sir  J.  Lubbock,’  he  says,  1 reminds  us  that  in  a cave  on  the  north- 
west coast  (of  Australia),  tolerable  figures  of  sharks,  porpoises,  turtles, 
lizards,  canoes,  and  some  quadrupeds,  &c.  were  found,  and  yet  that  the 
present  natives  of  the  country  where  they  were  found  were  utterly 
incapable  of  realising  the  most  artistic  vivid  representations,  and 
ascribe  the  drawings  in  the  cave  to  diabolical  agency.’  This  does 
not  prove  much,  because  the  Australian  tribes  differ  much  in  their 
artistic  condition  ; some  of  them  still  make  rude  drawings  like  those 
above  described. 

Secondly,  he  says,  1 Sir  J.  Lubbock  quotes  the  testimony  of  Cook, 
in  respect  to  the  Tasmanians,  that  they  had  no  canoes.  Yet  their 
ancestors  could  not  have  reached  the  island  by  walking  on  the  sea.’ ' 
This  argument  would  equally  prove  that  the  kangaroo  and  the 
Echidna  must  have  had  civilised  ancestors ; they  inhabit  both 
Australia  and  Tasmania,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
their  ancestors  to  have  passed  from  the  one  to  the  other,  ‘ by  walking 
on  the  sea.’  The  Duke,  though  admitting  the  antiquity  of  man, 
does  not  I think  appreciate  the  geological  changes  which  have  taken 
place  during  the  human  period. 

The  only  other  case  which  he  quotes  is  that  of  the  highland 
Esquimaux  who  had  no  weapons  nor  any  idea  of  war.  The  Duke’s 
comment  is  as  follows.  ‘No  wonder,  poor  people!  They  had  been 
driven  into  regions  where  no  stronger  race  could  desire  to  follow 
them.  But  that  the  fathers  had  once  known  what  war  and  violence 
meant,  there  is  no  more  conclusive  proof  than  the  dwelling  place  of 
their  children.’  It  is  perhaps  natural  that  the  head  of  a great  High- 
land Clan  should  regard  with  pity  a people  who  having  1 once  known 
what  war  and  violence  meant,’  have  no  longer  any  neighbours  to 
pillage  or  to  fight,  but  a lowlander  can  hardly  be  expected  seriously 
to  regard  such  a change  as.  one  calculated  to  excite  pity,  or  as  any 
evidence  of  degradation. 

In  my  first  paper  I deduced  an  argument  from  the  condition  of  reli- 
gion among  the  different  races  of  man,  a part  of  the  subject  which  has 
since  been  admirably  dealt  with  by  Mr.  Tylor  in  a lecture  at  the  Eoyal 
Institution.  The  use  of  flint  for  sacrificial  purposes  long  after  the 
introduction  of  metal,  seemed  to  me  a good  case  of  what  Mr.  Tylor  has 
aptly  called  1 Survival.’  So  also  is  the  method  of  obtaining  fire. 
The  brahman  will  not  use  ordinary  fire  for  sacred  purposes,  he  does 


343 


THE  KELIGION  OF  SAVAGES. 


not  even  obtain  a fresh  spark  from  flint  and  steel,  but  reverts  to,  or 
rather  continues  the  old  way  of  obtaining  it  by  friction  with  -a 
wooden  drill,  one  brahman  pulling  the  thong  backwards  and  forwards 
while  another  watches  to  catch  the  sacred  spark.  ^ 

I also  referred  to  the  non-existence  of  religion  among  certain 
savage  races,  and  as  the  Duke  correctly  observes,  I argued  that  this 
was  probably  their  primitive  condition,  because  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  a people  which  had  once  possessed  a religion  would  ever 
entirely  lose  it.1 

This  argument  filled  the  Duke  with  L astonishment.’  Surely,  he 
says,  1 if  there  is  one  fact  more  certain  than  another  in  respect  to 
the  nature  of  Man,  it  is  that  he  is  capable  of  losing  religious  know-* 
ledge,  of  ceasing  to  believe  in  religious  truth,  and  of  falling  away 
from  religious  duty.  If  by  “ religion  ” is  meant  the  existence 
merely  of  some  impressions  of  powers  invisible  and  supernatural, 
even  this,  we  know,  can  not  only  be  lost,  but  be  scornfully  disavowed 
by  men  who  are  highly  civilised.’  Yet  in  the  very  same  page,  the 
Duke  goes  on  to  say,  4 the  most  cruel  and  savage  customs  in  the 
world  are  the  direct  effect  of  its  “ religions.”  And  if  men  could 
drop  religions  when  they  would,  or  if  they  could  even  form  the 
wish  to  get  rid  of  those  which  sit  like  a nightmare  on  their  life, 
there  would  be  many  more  nations  without  a “ religion  ” than  there 
are  found  to  be.  But  religions  can  neither  be  put  on  nor  cast  off 
like  garments,  according  to  their  utility,  or  according  to  their  beauty, 
or  according  to  their  power  of  comforting.’ 

With  this  I entirely  agree.  Man  can  no  more  voluntarily  abandon 
or  change  the  articles  of  his  religious  creed  than  he  can  make  one 
hair  black  or  white,  or  add  one  cubit  to  his  stature.  I do  not  deny 
that  there  may  be  exceptional  cases  of  intellectual  men  entirely 
devoid  of  religion  ; but  if  the  Duke  means  to  say  that  men  who  are 
highly  civilised,  habitually  or  frequently  lose,  and  scornfully  disavow 
religion,  I can  only  say  that  I should  adopt  such  an  opinion  with 
difficulty  and  regret.  There  is,  so  far  as  I know,  no  evidence  on 
record  which  would  justify  such  an  opinion,  and  as  far  as  my  private 
experience  goes,  I at  least  have  met  with  no  such  tendency.  It  is 
indeed  true  that  from  the  times  of  Socrates  downwards,  men  in 
advance  of  their  age  have  disavowed  particular  dogmas,  and  parti- 
cular myths ; but  the  Duke  of  Argyll  would,  I am  sure,  not  con- 

1 It  is  hardly  necessary  to  explain  question  the  possibility  of  a change  in. 
to  anyone  that  I did  not  intend  to  but  a total  loss  of  religion. 


PROGRESS  OP  RELIGIOUS  IDEAS.  FETICHISM.  349t 

fuse  a desire  for  reformation  with  the  scornful  disavowal  of  religion 
as  a whole.  Some  philosophers  may  object  to  prayers  for  rain,  hut 
they  are  foremost  in  denouncing  the  folly  of  witchcraft ; they  may 
regard  matter  as  aboriginal,  but  they  would  never  suppose  with  the 
Redskin  that  land  was  created  while  - water  existed  from  the  be- 
ginning ; nor  would  anyone  now  suppose  with  the  South- Sea 
Islanders  that  the  Peerage  were  immortal,  but  not  commoners.  If, 
indeed,  there  is  c one  fact  more  certain  than  another  in. respect  to  the 
nature  of  man,’  I should  have  considered  it  to  be  the  gradual  diffu- 
sion of  religious  light,  and  of  nobler  cohceptions  as  to  the  nature  of 
God. 

The  lowest  savages  have  no  idea  of  a deity  at  all.  Those  slightly 
more  advanced  regard  him  as  an  enemy  to  be  dreaded,  but  who  may 
be  resisted  with  a fair  prospect  of  success,  who  may  be  cheated  by 
the  cunning  and  defied  by  the  strong.  Thus  the  natives  of  the 
Nicobar  islands  endeavour  to  terrify  their  deity  by  scarecrows,  and 
the  Negro  beats  his  fetish  if  his  prayers  are  not  granted.  As  tribes 
advance  in  civilisation,  their  deities  advance  in  dignity,  but  t\\eit 
power  is  still  limited  ; one  governs  the  sea,  another  the  land ; one 
reigns  over  the  plains,  another  among  the  mountains.  The  most 
powerful  are  vindictive,  cruel,  and  unjust.  They  require  humilia- 
ting ceremonies  and  bloody  sacrifices.  But  few  races  have  arrived 
at  the  conception  of  an  omnipotent  and  beneficent  Deity. 

Perhaps  the  lowest  form  of  religion  may  be  considered  to  be  that 
presented  by  the  Australians,  which  consists  of  a mere  unreasoning 
belief  in  the  existence  of  mysterious  "beings.  The  native  who  has  in 
his  sleep  a nightmare,  or  a dream,  does  not  doubt  the  reality  of  that 
which  passes,  and  as  the  beings  by  whom  he  is  visited  in  his  sleep 
are  unseen  by  his  friends  and  relations,  he  regards  them  as  invisible. 

In  Fetichism  this  feeling  is  more  methodized.  The  Negro,  by  means 
of  witchcraft,  endeavours  to  make  a slave  of  his  deity.  Thus  Fetich- 
ism is  almost  the  opposite  of  Religion;  it  stands  towards  it  in  the 
same  relation  as  Alchemy  to  Chemistry,  or  Astrology  to  Astronomy ; 
and  shows  how  fundamentally  our  idea  of  a deity  differs  from  that 
which  presents  itself  to  the  savage.  The  Negro  does  not  hesitate  to 
punish  a refractory  Fetish,  and  hides  it  in  his  waistcloth  if  he  does 
not  wish  it  to  know  what  is  going  on.  Aladdin’s  lamp  is,  in  fact, 
a well-known  illustration  of  a Fetish. 

A further  stage,  and  the  superiority  of  the  higher  deities  is  more 
fully  recognised.  Everything  is  worshipped  indiscriminately — 


350 


TOTEM1SM. 


animals,  plants,  and  even  inanimate  objects.  In  endeavouring  to 
account  for  the  worship  of  animals,  we  must  remember  that  names 
are  very  frequently  taken  from  them.  The  children  and  followers 
of  a man  called  the  Bear  or  the  Lion  would  make  that  a tribal 
name.  Hence  the  animal  itself  would  be  first  respected,  at  last 
worshipped.  This  form  of  religion  can  be  shown  to  have  existed, 
at  one  time  or  another,  almost  all  over  the  world. 

i The  Totem,’  says  Schoolcraft,  1 is  a symbol  of  the  name  of  the 
progenitor, — generally  some  quadruped,  or  bird,  or  other  object  in 
the  animal  kingdom,  which  stands,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  as  the 
surname  of  the  family.  It  is  always  some  animated  object,  and 
seldom  or  never  derived  from  the  inanimate  class  of  nature.  Its 
significant  importance  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  individuals  un- 
hesitatingly trace  their  lineage  from  it.  By  whatever  names  they 
may  be  called  during  their  life-time,  it  is  the  totem,  and  not  their 
personal  name,  that  is  recorded  on  the  tomb  or  “ adjedating  ” that 
marks  the  place  of  burial.  Families  are  thus  traced  when  expanded 
into  bands  or  tribes,  the  multiplication  of  which,  in  North  America, 
has  been  very  great,  and  has  decreased,  in  like  ratio,  the  labours  of 
the  ethnologist.’  Totemism,  however,  is  by  no  means  confined  to 
America.  In  Central  India  1 the  Moondah  “ Enidhi,”  or  Oraon 
“ Minijrar,”  or  Eel  tribe,  will  not  kill  or  eat  that  fish.  The  Hawk, 
Crow,  or  Heron  tribes  will  not  kill  or  eat  those  birds.  Livingstone, 
quoted  in  Latham,  tells  us  that  the  sub  tribes  of  Bitshaunas  (or 
Bechuanas)  are  similarly  named  after  certain  animals,  and  a tribe 
never  eats  the  animal  from  which  it  is  named,  using  the  term  u ila,” 
hate  or  dread,  in  reference  to  killing  it.’  1 

Traces,  indeed,  of  Totemism,  more  or  less  distinct,  are  widely 
distributed,  and  often  connected  with  marriage  prohibitions. 

As  regards  inanimate  objects,  we  must  remember  that  the  savage 
accounts  for  all  action  and  movement  by  life ; hence  a watch  is  to 
him  alive.  This  being  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  feeling  that 
anything  unusual  is 1 great  medicine,’  leads  to  the  worship  of  any  re- 
markable inanimate  obj  ect.  Mr.  Fergusson  has  recently  attempted  to 
show  the  special  prevalence  of  Tree  and  Serpent  worship.  He  might, 
I believe,  have  made  out  as  strong  a case  for  many  other  objects. 
It  seems  clear  that  the  objects  worshipped  in  this  stage  are  neither 
to  be  legarded  as  emblems,  nor  are  they  personified.  Inanimate 

1 Trans.  Ethnological  Soc.  N.  S.,  vol.  vi.  p.  36. 


IDOLATRY. 


351 


objects  have  spirits  as  well  as  men  ; hence  when  the  wives  and 
slaves  are  sacrificed,  the  weapons  also  are  broken  in  the  grave,  so 
that  the  spirits  of  the  latter,  as  well  as  of  the  former,  may  accompany 
their  master  to  the  other  world. 

The  gradually  increasing  power  of  chiefs  and  priests  led  to 
Anthropomorphism,  with  its  sacrifices,  temples,  and  priests,  &c.  To 
this  stage  belongs  idolatry,  which  must  by  no  means  be  regarded  as 
the  lowest  state  of  religion.  Solomon,1  indeed,  long  ago  pointed  out 
how  it  was  connected  with  monarchical  power. 

i Whom  men  could  not  honour  in  presence,  because  they  dwelt 
far  off,  they  took  the  counterfeit  of  his  visage  from  far,  and  made  an 
express  image  of  a king,  whom  they  honoured,  to  the  end  that  by 
this,  their  forwardness,  they  might  flatter  him  that  was  absent,  as  if 
he  were  present. 

4 Also  the  singular  diligence  of  the  artificer  did  help  to  set  forward 
the  ignorant  to  more  superstition. 

‘ For  he,  perad venture  willing  to  please  one  in  authority,  forced 
all  his  skill  to  make  the  resemblance  of  the  best  fashion. 

* And  so  the  multitude,  allured  by  the  grace  of  the  work, 
took  him  now  for  a God,  which  a little  before  was  but  honoured  as 
a man.’ 

The  worship  of  principles  may  be  regarded  as  a still  further~stage 
in  the  natural  development  of  religion. 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  each  stage  of  religion  is  superim- 
posed on  the  preceding,  and  that  bygone  beliefs  linger  on  among  the 
children  and  the  ignorant.  Thus  witchcraft  is  still  believed  in  by 
the  ignorant,  and  fairy  tales  flourish  in  the  nursery. 

It  certainly  appears  to  me  that  the  gradual  development  of 
religious  ideas  among  the  lower  races  of  men  is  a fair  argument  in 
opposition  to  the  view  that  savages  are  degenerate  descendants  of 
civilised  ancestors.  Archbishop  Whately  would  admit  the  con- 
nexion between  these  different  phases  of  religious  belief  but  I think 
he  would  find  it  very  difficult  to  show  any  process  of  natural 
degradation  and  decay  which  could  explain  the  quaint  errors  and 
opinions  of  the  lower  races  of  men,  or  to  account  for  the  lingering 
belief  in  witchcraft,  and  other  absurdities,  &c.,  in  civilised  races,  ex- 
cepting by  some  such  train  of  reasoning  as  that  which  I have 
endeavoured  to  sketch. 


1 Wisdom,  xiy.  17. 


352 


THE  TRUE  THEORY  OF 


There  is  another  case  in  this  memoir  wherein  the  Duke,  although 
generally  a fair  opponent,  brings  forward  an  unsupportable  accusa- 
tion. He  criticises  severely  the  ‘ Four  Ages,’  generally  admitted  by 
archaeologists,  especially  referring  to  the  terms  ‘Palaeolithic’  and 
‘ Neolithic,’  which  are  used  to  denote  the  two  earlier. 

I have  no  wish  to  take  to  myself  in  particular  the  blame  which 
the  Duke  impartially  extends  to  archseologists  in  general,  but  having 
suggested  the  two  terms  in  question,  I will  simply  place  side  by  side 
the  passage  in  which  they  first  appeared,  and  the  Duke’s  criticism, 
and  confidently  ask  whether  there  is  any  foundation  for  the  sweeping 
accusation  made  by  the  noble  Duke. 


The  Duke  says : ‘ For  here  I 
must  observe  that  Archseologists 
are  using  language  on  this  sub- 
ject which,  if  not  positively  erro- 
neous, requires,  at  least,  more 
rigorous  definitions  and  limita- 
tions of  meaning  than  they  are 
disposed  to  attend  to.  They  talk 
of  an  Old  Stone  Age  (Palaeoli- 
thic), and  of  a Newer  Stone  Age 
(Neolithic),  and  of  a Bronze  Age, 
and  of  an  Iron  Age.  Now,  there 
is  no  proof  whatever  that  such 
Ages  ever  existed  in  the  world. 
It  may  be  true,  and  it  probably 
is  true,  that  most  nations  in  the 
progress  of  the  Arts  have  passed 
through  the  stages  of  using  stone 
for  implements  before  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  metals. 
Even  this,  however,  may  not  be 
true  of  all  nations.  In  Africa 
there  appear  to  be  no  traces  of 
any  time  when  the  natives  were 
not  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
iron,  and  I am  informed  by  Sir 
Samuel  Baker  that  iron  ore  is 
so  common  in  Africa,  and  of  a 


My  words,  in  proposing  the 
terms,  were  as  follows : — 

‘ From  the  careful  study  of 
the  remains  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  it  would  appear  that 
the  prehistoric  archaeology  may 
be  divided  into  four  great  epochs. 

‘ Firstly,  that  of  Drift,  when 
man  shared  the  possession  of 
Europe  with  the  Mammoth,  the 
cave-bear,  the  woolly-haired  rhi- 
noceros and  other  extinct  animals. 
This  we  may  call  the  “ Palaeoli- 
thic” period. 

‘ Secondly,  the  later  or  polished 
Stone  Age;  a period  characterized 
by  beautiful  weapons  and  instru- 
ments made  of  Hint  and  other 
kinds  of  stone,  in  which,  however ? 
we  find  no  trace  of  the  knowledge 
of  any  metal,  excepting  gold, 
which  seems  to  have  been  some- 
times used  for  ornaments.  This 
we  may  call  the  Neolithic  period. 

‘ Thirdly,  the  Bronze  Age,  in 
which  bronze  was  used  for  arms 
and  cutting  instruments  of  all 
kinds. 


THE  FOUR  AGES. 


853 


kind  so  easily  reducible  by  heat, 
and  its  use  might  well  be  dis- 
covered by  the  rudest  tribes, 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  lighting 
fires.  Then  again  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  there  are  some 
countries  in  the  world  where 
stone  is  as  rare  and  difficult  to 
get  as  metals. 

‘ The  great  alluvial  plains  of 
Mesopotamia  are  a case  in  point. 
Accordingly  we  know  from  the 
remains  of  the  first  Chaldean 
monarchy  that  a very  high  civili- 
sation in  the  arts  of  agriculture 
and  of  commerce  coexisted  with 
the  use  of  stone  implements  of  a 
very  rude  character.  This  fact 
proves  that  rude  stone  imple- 
ments are  not  necessarily  any 
proof  whatever  of  a really  barba- 
rous condition.  And  even  if  it 
were  true  that  the  use  of  stone 
has  in  all  cases  preceded  the  use 
of  metals,  it  is  quite  certain  that 
the  same  age  which  was  an 
Age  of  Stone  in  one  part  of  the 
world  was  an  Age  of  Metal  in 
the  other.  As  regards  the 
Eskimo  and  the  South  Sea 
islanders,  we  are  now,  or  were 
very  recently,  living  in  a 'Stone 
Age.’ 


‘ Fourthly,  the  Iron1  Age,  in 
which  that  metal  had  superseded 
bronze  for  arms,  axes,  knives, 
&c. ; bronze,  however,  still  being 
in  common  use  for  ornaments, 
and  frequently  also  for  the 
handles  of  swords  and  other 
arms,  but  never  for  the  blades. 

‘ Stone  weapons,  however,  of 
many  kinds  were  still  in  use 
during  the  Age  of  Bronze,  and 
even  during  that  of  Iron.  So 
that  the  mere  presence  of  a few 
stone  implements  is  not  in  itself 
sufficient  evidence  that  any 
given  “ find  ” belongs  to  the 
Stone  Age. 

1 In  order  to  prevent  misappre- 
hension, it  may  be  as  well  to 
state  at  once,  that  I only  apply 
this  classification  to  Europe, 
though  in  all  probability  it  might 
also  be  extended  to  the  neigh- 
bouring parts  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
As  regards  other  civilised  coun- 
tries, China  and  J apan  for  instance, 
we,  as  yet,  know  nothing  of  their 
prehistoric  archaeology.  It  is 
evident,  also,  that  some  nations, 
such  as  the  Fuegians,  Anda- 
maners,  &c.,  are  even  now  only 
in  an  Age  of  Stone.’ 


I cannot,  of  course,  on  this  occasion  repeat  the  arguments  adduced 
in  my  first  memoir.  I will,  however,  now  bring  forward  one  or  two 
additional  reasons  in  support  of  my  view.  There  is  a considerable  body 
of  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the  offspring  produced  by  crossing 
different  varieties  tends  to  revert  to  the  type  from  which  these 
varieties  are  descended.  Thus  Tegetmeier  states  that  1 a cross 


354 


EVIDENCE  DERIVED  FROM  CROSSED  RACES, 


between  two  non-sitting  varieties  (of  the  common  fowl)  almost 
invariably  produces  a mongrel  that  becomes  broody,  and  sits  with 
remarkable  steadiness.’  Mr.  Darwin  gives  several  cases  in  which 
such  hybrids  or  mongrels  are  singularly  wild  and  untameable,  the 
mule  being  a familiar  instance.  Messrs.  Boitard  and  Corbie  state 
that,  when  they  crossed  certain  breeds  of  pigeons,  they  invariably 
get  some  young  ones  coloured  like  the  wild  C . livia.  Mr.  Darwin 
repeated  these  experiments,  and  found  the  statement  fully  confirmed. 

So  again  the  same  is  the  case  with  fowls.  Tens  of  thousands  of 
the  Black  Spanish  and  the  white  silk  fowls  might  be  bred  without 
a single  red  feather  appearing,  yet  Mr.  Darwin  found  that  on  crossing 
them  he  immediately  obtained  specimens  with  red  feathers.  Similar 
results  have  been  obtained  with  ducks,  rabbits,  and  cattle.  Mules 
also  have  not  unfrequently  barred  legs.  It  is  unnecessary  to  give 
these  cases  in  detail,  because  Mr.  Darwin’s  work  on  ‘ Animals  and 
Plants  under  Domestication  ’ is  in  the  hands  of  every  naturalist. 

Applying  the  same  test  to  man,  Mr.  Darwin  observes  that  crossed 
races  of  men  are  singularly  savage  and  degraded.  4 Many  years  ago,’ 
he  says,  £I  was  struck  by  the  fact  that  in  South  America  men  of 
complicated  descent  between  Negroes,  Indians,  and  Spaniards,  seldom 
had,  whatever  the  cause  might  be,  a good  expression.  Livingstone 
remarks  that  “ it  is  unaccountable  why  half-castes  are  so  much  more 
cruel  than  the  Portuguese,  but  such  is  undoubtedly  the  case.”  A 
native  remarked  to  Livingstone  “.God  made  white  men,  and  God 
made  black  men,  but  the  devil  made  half-castes !”  When  two  races, 
both  low  in  the  scale,  are  crossed,  the  progeny  seems  to  be  eminently 
bad.  Thus  the  noble-hearted  Humboldt,  who  felt  none  of  that 
prejudice  against  the  inferior  races  now  so  current  in  England,  speaks 
in  strong  terms  of  the  bad  and  savage  disposition  of  Zambas,  or 
half-castes  between  Indians  and  Negroes,  and  this  conclusion  has 
been  arrived  at  by  various  observers.  From  these  facts  we  may 
perhaps  infer  that  the  degraded  state  of  so  many  half-castes  is  in  part 
due  to  reversion  to  a primitive  and  savage  condition,  induced  by  the 
act  of  crossing,  as  well  as  to  the  unfavourable  moral  conditions 
under  which  they  generally  exist.’ 

I confess,  however,  that  I am  not  sure  how  far  this  may  not  he 
accounted  for  by  the  unfortunate  circumstances  in  which  half-breeds 
are  generally  placed.  The  half-breeds  between  the  Hudson’s  Bay 
Company’s  servants  and  the  native  women,  being  well  treated  ancf 
looked  after,  appear  to  be  a creditable  and  well-behaved  set.1 


1 Dunn's  ‘ Oregon  Territory/  p.  147. 


SAVAGES,  AND  CHILDREN. 


355 


1 would  also  call  particular  attention  to  the  remarkable  similarity 
between' the  mental  characteristics  of  savages  and  those  of  children. 
4 The  Abipones,’  says  Dobritzhoffer,1  4 when  they  are  unable  to  com- 
prehend anything  at  first  sight,  soon  grow  weary  of  examining  it, 
and  cry  4 orqueenam  ?’  what  is  it  after  all  ? Sometimes  the  Guaranies, 
when  completely  puzzled,  knit  their  brows  and  cry  44  tupa  oiquaa,” 
God  knows  what  it  is.  Since  they  possess  such  small  reasoning 
powers,  and  have  so  little  inclination  to  exert  them,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  they  are  neither  able  nor  willing  to  argue  one  thing  from  another.* 

Richardson  says  of  the  Dogrib  Indians,  4 that  however  high  the 
reward  they  expected  to  receive  on  reaching  their  destination,  they 
could  not  be  depended  on  to  carry  letters.  A slight  difficulty,  the 
prospect  of  a banquet  on  venison,  or  a sudden  impulse  to  visit  some 
friend,  were  sufficient  to  turn  them  aside  for  an  indefinite  length  of 
time.’*  Le  Vaillant3  also  observes  of  the  Namaquas,  that  they 
closely  resembled  children  in  their  great  curiosity. 

M.  Bourien,4  speaking  of  the  wild  tribes  in  the  Malayan  Peninsula, 
says  that  an  4 inconstant  humour,  fickle  and  erratic,  together  with  a 
mixture  of  fear,  timidity,  and  diffidence,  lies  at  the  bottom  of  their 
character,  they  seem  always  to  think  that  they  would  be  better 
in  any  other  place  than  in  the  one  they  occupy  at  the  time.  Like 
children,  their  actions  seem  to  be  rarely  guided  by  reflection,  and 
they  almost  always  act  impulsively.’  The  tears  of  the  South- Sea 
Islanders,  4 like  those  of  children,  were  always  ready  to  express  any 
passion  that  was  strongly  excited,  and,  like  those  of  children,  they 
also  appeared  to  be  forgotten  as  soon  as  shed.’  5 

At  Tahiti  Captain  Cook  mentions  that  Oberea,  the  Queen,  and 
Tootahah,  one  of  the  principal  chiefs,  amused  themselves  with  two 
large  dolls.  D’Urville  tells  us  that  a New  Zealand  chief,  Tauvarya 
by  name,  4 cried  like  a child  because  the  sailors  spoilt  his  favourite 
cloak  by  powdering  it  with  flour.’  6 Williams  7 mentions  that  in 
Feejee  not  only  the  women,  but  even  the  men  give  , vent  to  their 
feelings  by  crying.  Burton  even  says  that  among  East  Africans  the 
men  cried  more  frequently  than  the  women.8 

Not  only  do  savages  closely  resemble  children  in  their  general 

* His.  of  the  Abipones,  vol.  ii.  p.  59.  5 Cook’s  first  Voyage,  p.  103. 

2 Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  23.  6 Vol.  ii.  p.  398.  See  also  ‘ Yate's 

8 Travels  in  Africa,  1776,  vol.  iii.  New  Zealand,’  p.  1.01. 

p.  12.  7 Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  ii.  p.  121. 

4 Trans,  Ethn.  Soc. N.  S.yoL  iii.  p.  78-  8 Lake  Regions,  p.  332. 


356 


LANGUAGE  OF  SAVAGES. 


character,  but  a curious  similarity  exists  between  them  in  many 
small  points.  For  instance,  the  tendency  to  reduplication,  which  is 
so  characteristic  of  children,  prevails  remarkably  also  amongst 
savages.  The  first  1000  words  in  Kichardson’s  dictionary  (down  to 
allege),  contain  only  three,  namely,  adscititious,  adventitious,  agi- 
tator, and  even  in  these  it  is  reduced  to  a minimum.  There  is  not 
a single  word  like  ahi  ahi , evening ; ake  alee,  eternal ; aki  aki , a 
bird ; aniwaniwa , the  rainbow ; anga  anga , agreement ; angi  angiy 
aboard  ; aro  aro , in  front;  aruaru , to. woo  ; ati  ati , to  drive  out  ; 
awa  awa , a valley  ; or  awanga  wanga , hope,  words  of  a class  which 
abound  in  savage  languages. 

The  first  1000  words  in  a French  dictionary  I found  to  contain 
only  two  reduplications,  namely,  anana  and  assassin,  both  of  which 
are  derived  from  a lower  race,  and  cannot,  strictly  speaking,  be 
regarded  as  French. 

Again  1000  German  words,  taking  for  variety  the  letters  C andD, 
contain  six  cases,  namely,  Cacadu  (Cockatoo),  cacao , cocon  (cocoon), 
cocosbaum , a cocao  tree,  cocosnuss , cocao  nut,  and  dagegen , of  which 
again  all  but  the  last  are  foreign. 

Lastly,  the  first  1000  Greek  words  contained  only  two  redupli- 
cations, one  of  which  is  d/lap/lapoc*. 

For  comparison  with  the  above  I have  examined  the  vocabularies 
of  seventeen  savage  tribes,  and  the  results  are  given  in  the  following 
Table 


LANGUAGE  OF  SAVAGES. 


357 


Languages 

Number 
of  words 

Number 
of  redu- 
plications 

Propor- 
tion per 
mil. 

Europe. 

English  . 

1000 

3 

3 

Both  foreign. 

French  . 

1000 

2 

2 

German  . 

1000 

6 

6 

All  but  one  foreign. 
One  being  afiapfiapos. 

Greek 

1000 

2 

2 

Africa. 

Beetjuan  , 

188 

7 

37 

Lichtenstein. 

Bosjesman 

129 

5 

38 

JJ 

Namaqua  Hottentot 

1000 

75 

75 

H.  Tindall. 

Mpongwe 

1264 

70 

60 

Snowdon  and  Prall. 

Fulup 

204 

28 

137 

Koelle. 

Mbofon  . . 

267 

27 

100 

America. 

Darien  Indians 

184 

13 

70 

Trans.  Eth.  Soc.  vol.  vi. 

Ojibwa  . 

283 

21 

74 

Schoolcraft. 

Tupy  (Brazil)  . 

1000 

66 

66 

Gonsalvez  Dias. 

Negroid. 

Brumer  Island 

214 

37 

170 

M'Gillivray. 

Redscar  Bay  . 

125 

10 

80 

>» 

Louisiade 

138 

22 

160 

)> 

Erroob  . 

513 

23 

45 

Jukes. 

Lewis  Murray  Island 

506 

19 

38 

„ 

Australia. 

Kowrarega 

720 

26 

36 

M'Gillivray. 

i Polynesia. 

Tonga 

1000 

166 

166 

Mariner. 

New  Zealand  . 

1300 

220 

169 

Dieffenbach. 

For  African  languages  I have  examined  the  Beetjuan  and  Bos- 
jesman  dialects,  given  by  Lichtenstein  in  his  4 Travels  in  Southern 
Africa  ; ’ the  Namaqua  Hottentot,  as  given  by  Tindall  in  his 
4 Grammar  and  Vocabulary  of  the  Namaqua  Hottentot ; ’ the  Me- 
pongwe  of  the  Gaboon,  from  the  Grammar  of  the  Mpongwe  language 
published  by  Snowden  and  Prall  of  New  York  ; and  lastly  the 
Fulup  and  Mbofon  languages  from  Koelle’s  4 Polyglotta  Africana.’ 
For  America,  the  Ojibwa  vocabulary,  given  in  Schoolcraft’s  4 Indian 
Tribes ; ’ the  Darien  vocabulary,  from  the  6th  vol.  N.  S.  of  the 
Ethnological  Society’s  Transactions ; and  the  Tupy  vocabulary, 
given  in  A.  Gonsalves  Dias’s  4 Diccionaria  da  Lingua  Tupy  chamada 
lingua  geral  dos  indigenas  do  Brazil.’  To  these  I have  added  the 
languages  spoke  on  Brumer  Island,  at  Redscar  Bay,  Kowrarega, 
and  at  the  Louisiade,  as  collected  by  M4Gillivray  in  the  4 Voyage  of 
the  Rattlesnake  ; ’ and  the  dialects  of  Erroob  and  Lewis  Murray 
Island,  from  Jukes’s  4 Voyage  of  the  Fly.’  Lastly,  for  Polynesia,  the 


858 


TENDENCY  TO  REDUPLICATIONS. 


Tongan  dictionary  given  by  Mariner,  and  that  of  New  Zealand  by 
Dieffenbach. 

The  result  is,  that  while  in  the  four  European  languages  we  get 
about  two  reduplications  in  1000  words,  in  the  savage  ones  the 
number  varies  from  thirty-eight  to  170,  being  from  twenty  to 
eighty  times  as  many  in  proportion. 

In  the  Polynesian  andFeejee  Islands  they  are  particularly  numerous; 
thus,  in  Feejee,  such  names  as  Somosomo,  Eaki  raki,  Raviravi,  Luma- 
luma  are  numerous.  Perhaps  the  most  familiar  New  Zealand  words 
are  meremere,  patoo  patoo,  and  kivi  kivi.  So  generally,  however,  is 
reduplication  a characteristic  of  savage  tongues  that  it  even  gave  rise 
to  the  term  * barbarous.’ 

The  love  of  pets  is  very  strongly  developed  among  savages.  Many 
instances  have  been  given  by  Mr.  Galton  in  his  Memoir  on  the 
* Domestication  of  Animals.’  1 

Among  minor  indications  may  be  mentioned  the  use  of  the  rattle. 
Originally  a sacred  and  mysterious  instrument,  as  it  is  still  among 
some  of  the  Siberian  Red-skin  and  Brazilian  2 tribes,  it  has  with  us 
degenerated  into  a child’s  toy.  Thus  DobritzhofFer  tells  us,  the  A bi- 
pones  at  a certain  season  of  the  year  worshipped  the  Pleiads.  The 
ceremony  consisted  in  a feast  accompanied  with  dancing  and  music, 
accompanied  with  praises  of  the  stars,  during  which  the  principal 
priestess  * who  conducts  the  festive  ceremonies,  dances  at  intervals, 
rattling  a gourd  full  of  hardish  fruit-seeds  to  musical  time,  and 
whirling  round  to  the  right  with  one  foot,  and  to  the  left  with 
another,  without  ever  removing  from  one  spot,  or  in  the  least  varying 
her  motions.’ 3 Spix  and  Martius  4 thus  describe  a Coroado  chief : 
— * In  the  middle  of  the  assembly,  and  nearest  to  the  pot,  stood  the 
chief,  who,  by  his  strength,  cunning,  and  courage,  had  obtained 
some  command  over  them,  and  had  received  from  Marlier  the  title 
of  Captain.  In  his  right  hand  he  held  the  maraca,  the  above-men- 
tioned castanet,  which  they  call  gringerina,  and  rattled  with  it,  beat- 
ing time  with  his  right  foot.’  * The  Congo  Negroes  had  a great 
wooden  rattle,  upon  which  they  took  their  oaths.’ 5 The  rattle  also 

1 Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p.  122.  4 Travels  in  Brazil.  London,  1824, 

2 Martius,  Yon  dem  Rectszustand.  vol.  ii.  p.  234. 

Ur.  Brasiliens,  p.  34.  5 Astley’s  Coll,  of  Voyages,  vol.  iii 

3 DobritzhofFer,  vol.  ii.  p.  65.  See  p.  233. 

alsop.  72. 


ANCIENT  CEREMONIES  AND  MODERN  GAMES.  359 


is  very  important  among  the  Indians  of  North  America.1  When  any 
person  is  sick,  the  sorcerer  or  medicine-man  brings  his  sacred 
rattle  and  shakes  it  over  him.  This,  says  Prescott,  ‘ is  the  principal 
catholicon  for  all  diseases.’  Catlin2  also  describes  the  ‘ rattle’  as 
being  of  great  importance.  Some  tribes  have  a sacred  drum,  closely 
resembling  that  of  the  Lapps.3  When  an  Indian  is  ill,  the  magician, 
says  Carver,4  ‘sits  by  the  patient  day  and  night,  rattling  in  his  ears 
a gourd-shell  filled  with  dried  beans,  called  a chichicone.’ 

Klemm 5 also  remarks  on  the  great  significance  attached  to  the 
rattle  throughout  America,  and  Staad  even  thought  that  it  was 
worshipped  as  a divinity.6 

Schoolcraft7  also  gives  a figure  of  Oshkabaiwis,  the  Redskin 
medical  chief,  1 holding  in  his  hand  the  magic  rattle,’  which  is  indeed 
the  usual  emblem  of  authority  in  the  American  pictographs.  I 
know  no  case  of  a savage  infant  using  the  rattle  as  a plaything. 

Tossing  halfpence,  as  dice,  again,  which  used  to  be  a sacred  and 
solemn  mode  of  consulting  the  oracles,  is  now  a mere  game  for 
children. 

So  again  the  doll  is  a‘  hybrid  between  the  baby  and  the  fetish,  and 
exhibiting  the  contradictory  characters  of  its  parents,  becomes  singu- 
larly unintelligible  to  grown-up  people.  Mr.  Tylor  has  pointed 
out  other  illustrations  of  this  argument,  and  I would  refer  those 
w\ho  feel  interested  in  this  part  of  the  subject  to  his  excellent 
work. 

Dancing  is  another  case  in  point.  With  us  it  is  a mere  amuse- 
ment. Among  savages  it  is  an  important  and,  in  some  cases,  re- 
ligious ceremony.  1 If,’  says  Robertson, 8 ‘ any  intercourse  be 
necessary  between  two  American  tribes,  the  ambassadors  of  the  one 
approach  in  a solemn  dance,  and  present  the  calumet  or  emblem  of 
peace  ; the  sachems  of  the  other  receive  it  with  the  same  ceremony. 
If  war  is  denounced  against  an  enemy,  it  is  by  a dance,  expressive  of 
the  resentment  which  they  feel,  and  of  the  vengeance  which  they 
meditate.  If  the  wrath  of  their  gods  is  to  be  appeased,  or  their 
beneficence  to  be  celebrated,  if  they  rejoice  at  the  birth  of  a child,  or 
mourn  the  death  of  a friend,  they  have  dances  appropriated  to  each 

1 Prescott  in  Schoolcraft’s  ‘Indian  5 Culturgechichte,  vol.  ii.  p.  172. 

Tribes,’  vol.  ii.  pp.  179,  180.  6 Mceurs  des  Sauvages  Americains, 

2 American  Indians,  vol.  i,  pp:  39,  vol.  ii.  p.  297. 

40,  163,  &c.  7 Indian  Tribes,  pt.iii.  pp.  490-492. 

3 Catlin,  l.  c.  p.  40.  8 Robertson’s  America,  bk.  iv.  p. 

4 Travels,  p.  385.  133. 


360  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL, 

of  these  situations,  and  suited  to  the  different  sentiments  with  which 
they  are  then  animated.  If  a person  is  indisposed,  a dance  is  pre- 
scribed as  the  most  effectual  means  of  restoring  him  to  health  : and 
if  he  himself  cannot  endure  the  fatigue  of  such  an  exercise,  the 
physician  or  conjuror  performs  it  in  his  name,  as  if  the  virtue  of  his 
activity  could  be  transferred  to  his  patient.’ 

But  it  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  illustrations.  Every  one  who 
has  read  much  on  the  subject  will  admit  the  truth  of  the  statement. 
It  explains  the  capricious  treatment  which  so  many  white  men  have 
received  from  savage  potentates;  how  they  have  been  alternately 
petted  and  illtreated,  at  one  time  loaded  with  the  best  of  everything, 
at  another  neglected  or  put  to  death. 

The  close  resemblance  existing  in  ideas,  language,  habits,  and 
character  between  savages  and  children,  though  generally  admitted, 
has  usually  been  disposed  of  in  a passing  sentence,  and  regarded 
rather  as  a curious  accident  than  as  an  important  truth.  Yet  from 
several  points  of  view  it  possesses  a high  interest.  Better  under- 
stood, it  might  have  saved  us  many  national  misfortunes,  from  the 
loss  of  Captain  Cook  down  to  the  Abyssinian  war.  It  has  also  a 
direct  bearing  on  the  present  discussion. 

The  opinion  is  rapidly  gaining  ground  among  naturalists,  that  the 
development  of  the  individual  is  an  epitome  of  that  of  the  species,  a 
conclusion  which,  if  fully  borne  out,  will  evidently  prove  most 
instructive.  Already  many  facts  are  on  record  which  render  it,  to 
say  the  least,  highly  probable.  Birds  of  the  same  genus,  or  of 
closely  allied  genera,  which,  when  mature,  differ  much  in  colour, 
are  often  very  similar  when  young.  The  young  of  the  Lion  and  the 
Puma  are  often  striped,  and  foetal  whales  have  teeth.  Leidy  has 
shown  that  the  milk-teeth  of  the  genus  Equus  resemble  the  perma- 
nent teeth  of  Anchitherium,  while  the  milk-teeth  of  Anchitherium 
again  approximate  to  the  dental  system  of  Merychippus .*  Butimeyer, 
while  calling  attention  to  this  interesting  observation,  adds  that  the 
milk-teeth  of  Equus  cahallus  in  the  same  way,  and  still  more  those 
of  E . fossilis , resemble  the  permanent  teeth  of  Hipparion .1 2 

Agassiz,  according  to  Darwin,  regards  it  as  a ‘law  of  nature,’  that 
the  young  states  of  each  species  and  group  resemble  older  forms  of 
the  same  group ; and  Darwin  himself  says,3  that  ‘ in  two  or  more 

1 Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Soc.  Philadelphia,  Pferde.  Basle,  1863. 

1858,  p.  26.  3 Origin  of  Species,  4th  edition, 

2 Beitrage  zur  kenntniss  der  fossilen  p.  532. 


AND  THAT  OF  THE  SPECIES. 


361 


groups  of  animals,  however  much  they  may  at  first  differ  from  each 
other  in  structure  and  habits,  if  they  pass  through  closely  similar 
embryonic  stages,  we  may  feel  almost  assured  that  they  have 
descended  from  the  same  parent  form,  and  are  therefore  closely 
related.’  So  also  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  says,1  4 Each  organism 
exhibits  within  a short  space  of  time,  a series  of  changes  which,  when 
supposed  to  occupy  a period  indefinitely  great,  and  to  go  on  in 
various  ways  instead  of  one  way,  gives  us  a tolerably  clear  concep- 
tion of  organic  evolution  in  general.’ 

It  may  be  said  that  this  argument  involves  the  acceptance  of  the 
Darwinian  hypothesis  ; this  would,  however,  be  a mistake ; the 
objection  might  indeed  be  tenable  if  men  belonged  to  different 
species,  but  it  cannot  fairly  be  urged  by  those  who  regard  all 
mankind  as  descended  from  common  ancestors ; and,  in  fapt,  it  is 
strongly  held  by  Agassiz,  one  of  Mr.  Darwin’s  most  uncompromising 
opponents.  Regarded  from  this'  point  of  view,  the  similarity  ex- 
isting between  savages  and  children  assumes  a singular  importance 
and  becomes  almost  conclusive  as  regards  the  question  now  at  issue. 

The  Duke  ends  his  work  with  the  expression  of  a belief  that  man, 
4 even  in  his  most  civilised  condition,  is  capable  of  degradation,  that 
his  knowledge  may  decay,  and  that  his  religion  may  be  lost.’  That 
this  is  true  of  individuals,  I do  not  of  course  deny ; that  it  holds 
good  with  the  human  race,  I cannot  believe.1 2 *  Far  more  true,  far 
more  noble,  as  it  seems  to  me,  are  the  concluding  passages  of  Lord 
Dunraven’s  opening  address  to  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Associ- 
ation, 4 that  if  we  look  back  through  the  entire  period  of  the  past 
history  of  man,  as  exhibited  in  the  result  of  archaeological  investiga- 
tion, we  can  scarcely  fail  to  perceive  that  the  whole  exhibits  one 
grand  scheme  of  progression,  which,  notwithstanding  partial  periods 
of  decline,  has  for  its  end  the  ever-increasing  civilisation  of  man, 
and  the  gradual  development  of  his  higher  faculties, -anff  for  its 

1 Principles  of  Biology,  vol.  i.  p.  349.  Genesis  not  only  as  naked,  and  subse- 

2 The  Duke  appears  to  consider  that  quently  clothed  with  leaves,  but  as 
the  first  men,  though  deficient  in  unable  to  resist  the  most  trivial  temp- 
knowledge  of  the  mechanical  arts,  tation,  and  as  entertaining  very  gross 
were  morally  and  intellectually  supe-  and  anthropomorphic  conceptions  of 

rior,  or  at  least  equal,  to  those  of  'the  the  Deity.  In  fact  in  all  three  cha- 
present  day ; and  it  is  remarkable  racteristics — in  his  mode  of  life,  in  his 
that  supporting  such  a view  he  should  moral  condition,  and  in  his  intellectual 
regard  himself  as  a champion  of  ortho-  conceptions — Adam  was  a typical 

doxy.  Adam  is  represented  to  us  in  Savage. 


362 


DEVELOPMENT  of  the  individual. 


object  the  continual  manipulation  of  the  design,  the  power,  the 
wisdom,  and  the  goodness  of  Almighty  God.’ 

I confess  therefore  that,  after  giving  the  arguments  of  the  Duke  of 
Argyll  my  most  attentive  and  candid  consideration,  I see  no  reason 
to  adopt  his  melancholy  conclusion,  but  I remain  persuaded  that  the 
past  history  of  man  has,  on  the  whole,  been  one  of  progress,  and 
that,  in  looking  forward  to  the  future,  we  are  justified  in  doing  so 
with  confidence  and  with  hope. 


NOTES 


Page  52. 

Position  of  Women  in  Australia} 

i Foeminae  sese  per  totam  pene  vitam  prostituunt.  Apud  plurimas 
tribus  juventutem  utriusque  sexus  sine  discrimine  concumbere 
in  usus  est.  Si  juyenis  forte  indigenorum  cuetum  quendam  in 
castris  manentem  adveniat,  ubi  quae  vis  sit  puella  innupta,  mos 
est:  nocte  veniente  et  cubantibus  omnibus,  illam  ex  loco  ex- 
surgere  et  juvenem  accidentem  cum  illo  per  noctem  manere 
unde  in  sedem  propriam  ante  diem  redit.  Cui  foemina  sit,  earn 
amicis  libenter  praebet ; si  in  itinere  sit,  uxori  in  castris  manenti 
aliquis  supplet  illi  vires.  Advenis  ex  longinquo  accedentibus 
foeminas  ad  tempus  dare  hospitis  esse  boni  judicatur.  Yiduis  et 
foeminis  jam  senescentibus  saepe  in  id  traditis,  quandoque  etiam 
invitis  et  insciis  cognatis,  adolescentes  utuntur.  Puellae  tenerse  a 
decimo  primum  anno,  et  pueri  a decimo  tertio  vel  quarto,  inter  se 
miscentur.  Senioribus  mos  est,  si  forte  gentium  plurium  castra 
appropinquant,  viros  noctu  hinc  inde  transeuntes,  uxoribus  alienis 
uti  et  in  sua  castra  ex  utraque  parte  mane  redire. 

6 Temporibus  quinetiam  certis,  machina  quaedam  ex  ligno  ad  formam 
ovi  facta,  sacra  et  mystica,  nam  foeminas  aspicere  haud  licitum,  decern 
plus  minus  uncias  longa  et  circa  quatuor  lata,  insculpta  ac  figuris 
diversis  omata,  et  ultimam  perforata  partem  ad  longam  (plerumque 
e crinibus  humanis  textam)  inserendam  chordam  cui  nomen  “ Moo 
yumkarr,”  extra  castra  in  gyrum  versata,  stridore  magno  e percusso 
aere  facto,  libertatem  coeundi  juventuti  esse  turn  concessam  omnibus 
indicat.  Parentes  saepe  infantum,  viri  uxorum  quae  stum  corporum 
faciunt.  In  urbe  Adelaide  panis  praemio  parvi  aut  paucorum 
denariorum  meretrices  fieri  eas  libenter  cogunt.  Facile  potest 


1 Eyre’s  Discoveries , &c.,  ii.  320. 


I 


364  NOTES. 

intelligi,  amorem  inter  nuptos  vix  posse  esse  grandem,  quum  omnia 
quae  ad  foeminas  attinent,  hominum  a'rbitrio  ordinentiir  et  tanta 
sexuum  societal  laxitas,  et  adolescentes  quibus  ita  multae  ardoris 
explendi  dantur  occasiones,  haud  magnopere  uxores,  nisi  ut  servos 
desideraturos.’ 

Page  66. 

Adoption. 

1 Adjiciendum  et  hoc,  quod  post  evectionem  ad  Deos,  Juno,  Jovis 
suasu,  filium  sibi  Herculem  adoptavit,  et  omne  deinceps  tempus 
materna  ipsum  benevolentia  complexa  fuerit.  Illam  adoptionem 
hoc  - modo  factam  perhibent : J uno  lectum  ingressa,  Herculem v 
corpori  suo  admotum,  ut  verum  imitaretur  partum,  subter  vestes 
ad  terram  demisit.  Quern  in  hoc  usque  tempus  adoptionis  ritum 
barbari  observant.1 1 

' . 1 ' 
Page  87. 

Expiation  for  Marriage . 

Mela2  tells  uS  that  among  the  Auziles,  another  ^Ethiopian  tribe, 

* Feminis  solemne  est,  nocte,  qua  nubunt,  omnium  stup^o  patere, 
qui  cum  munere  advenerint : et  turn,  cum  plurimis  concubuisse, 
maximum  decus  ; in  reliquum  pudicitia  insignis  est.’ 

Speaking  of  the  Nasamonians,  Herodotus  observes  : 

TTpdtTOV  yapiorrog  NcKraputvog  urfipog,  i opog  kar\  rrjy  vijpcprjy 
vvkti  ri]  Trpu)Tr\  diu  7rc tvrojv  ^Le^eXOeir  tCjv  ^aiTvporojy  pKTyoperrjvm  t&v 
Se  ujg  eKCKFTog  ol  Suipov  to  av  (j>ep6pevog  k£,  o'lkov .3 

Diodorus4  also  gives  a very  similar  account  of  marriage  in  the 
Balearic  Islands. 

The  passage  in  St.  Augustin  is  as  follows  : 

1 Sed  quid  hoc  dicam,  cum  ibi  sit  et  Priapus  himius  masculus, 
super  cujus  immanissimum  et  turpissimum  fascinum  sedere  nova 
nupta  jubeatur,  more  honestissimo  et  religiosissimo  matronarum.’5 

Lastly,  in  his  description  of  Babylonian  customs,  Herodotus  says : 6 

O Si)  alcrx^Tog  rtiv  vopiav  tari  roicri  BafivXujyioKTi  oCe.m  fii 

1 Diodorus,  iv.  39.  2 Mela,  i.  8.  3 Melpomene,  iv.  172. 

4 Diodorus,  v.  18.  4 Civit.  Dei,  vi.  9.  6 Clio,  1.  199. 


NOTES. 


365 


iraffav  yvvaitca  en iyu>plr)v  l£opevrjv  eg  Ipov  'A^poblrrjg,  an a£  ev  rrj  £otj 
puyQr\vai  avbj pi  £f Ivu).  IIoXAai  be  Kai  ovk  a £ievpevai  avaplay eodai 
rrjoi  aXXrjoi , ola  n Xovtio  vneptypoveoyodi , enl  ^evyetov  ev  Kapaprjoi 
tXaoaoai,  npog  to  Ipov  eoTaoi'  depanrjirj  be  o(pi  onioOev  enerai  noXXrj. 
a l be  n Xeyveg  noievoi  tube'  ev  repevei  ’Atypobirrjg  Karearai  ore(j>avov 
7 repi  Trjai  KeftaXrjoi  eyovaai  Qtopiyyog,  n oAAcu  ywatKeg*  al  pev  yap 
npooep\ovTai,  al  be  anep^ovTai • oyoivoreveeg  be  bie£oboi  ndvra  rponov 
ooaitvv  eyovoi  bici  rtov  yvvaiKtov , Si  utv  ol  £eivoi  bie^iovreg  eicXeyovrai. 
evQa  eneav  l^rjrai  yvvrj , ov  nporepov  dnaXXaooerai  eg  ra  olKia , 7/  rig 
ol  £elvi ov  apyvptov  epfiaXiov  eg  ra  yovvara  pi\0rj  e£u)  rov  Ipov' 
epfiaXovra  be  bei  elnelv  rooovbe * 6 eniKaXeto  tol  ryv  Oeov  MvAirra*’ 
MvXirra  be  KaXeovoi  rrjv  * A(j>pobirrjv  ’A oovpioi*  to  be  apyvpiov  peyaOog 
eon  ooovCjv * ov  yap  py  antboyrai'  ov  yajb  oi  Oepig  eon'  ylverai  yap 
Ipov  rovro  to  apyvptov * ra>  be  nptortv  ep/3aX6vTi  enerai , ovbe  cur obo~ 
Kipcj.  ovbeva'  eneciv  be  piX^i  dnooavoapevrj  rrj  Qeu>  anciXXaooeTai  eg 
ra  otKta , Kai  rune  tovtov  ovk  ovrto  pey a tL  ol  bufoeig * wg  piv  Xap\peai, 
ooai  pev  vvv  e’ibeog  re  enappevai  elol  feat  peyadeog,  ra^u  anaXXao- 
oovTat * ooai  be  dpop(f)oi  avreutv  elol,  yjpovov  noXXov  npoopevovoi 
ov  bvvapevai  rov  ropov  eKnXrjoai • Kai  yap  t pierea  Ka\  rerpaerea 
peTe^erepai  xporov  perovoi.  ivM\rj  be  kcu  t fjg  Kunpov  eon  napanXyoiog 
TovTtf  vopog. 


INDEX. 


' 


INDEX 


ABB 

ABBEOKUTA,  tattoos  of  the  people 
of,  43 

Abipones,  their  disbelief  in  natural 
death,  133 

— sorcerers  among  them,  153,  155 
• — their  worship  of  the  Pleiades,  215 
— their  Shamanism,  225 
— no  idea  among  them  of  creation,  250 
— their  method  of  numeration,  298 
Abyssinians,  absence  of  tho  marriage 
ceremony  among  the,  57 
— practice  of  adoption  among  them,  66 
— their  stone-worship,  210 
Adoption,  prevalence  among  the  lower 
races  of  men,  65 

— among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  66 
— the  milk  tie,  66 
^Ethiopia,  marriage  customs  in,  87 
Africa,  customs  as  to  fathers-  and  mo- 
thers-in-law, 9 

— writing  used  as  medicine  in,  16,  17 
— drawings  not  understood  in,  29,  30 
— personal  ornamentation  of  various 
tribes,  42,  43 

— their  tattoos  and  tribal  marks,  43,  45 
— marriage  and  relationship  in,  51 
— practice  of  adoption  in,  65 
— marriage  customs  of  the  Eutans,  82 

and  of  the  North  Africans,  83 

— restrictions  on  marriage  in  Eastern 
and  Western  Africa,  95 
— inheritance  through  females  in,  105 
— how  dreams  are  regarded  by^  .some 
tribes,  127 

— their  notions  of  a man’s  shadow,  128 
— and  o#the  Deity,  130 
— behaviour  of  the  people  during 
eclipses,  136 

— Totemism  in,  170-172,  174 
— serpent- worship  in,  176,  177 
— animal-worship  in,  178,  182 
— tree-worship  in,  192 
— water- worship  in,  201 
— stone-worship  in,  210 


AME 

Africa — continued . 

— worship  of  men  in,  235 

— ceremony  of  eating  the  fetich  in,  241 

— human  sacrifices  in,  242 

— no  notion  of*  creation  among  the 
people  of,  252 

— absence  of  moral  feeling  in,  264 

— poverty  of  the  language  of,  293 

— methods  of  numeration  in,  298,  299 

— salutations  of  the  people  in,  306 

Age,  respect  paid  to,  27  2 

Ages,  the  Eour,  true  theory  of,  352 

Agoye,  an  idol  of  Whydah,  178 

Ahitas  of  the  Phillippines,  marriage 
customs  of  the,  81 

Ahoosh,  Lake,  held  sacred  by  the 
Bashkirs,  200 

Ahts,  inactivity  of  their  intellect,  5 

— slavery  of  female  captives  among 
the,  102 

— their  sorcerers,  152 

— their  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
215 

Algonkins,  their  rules  and  ceremonies, 
305 

Alii  gator- worship,  183 

Amazon  Valley,  marriage  by  capture 
among  the  tribes  of  the,  79 

America,  South,  custom  of  La  Couvade 
in,  10,  11 

American  Indians,  customs  among  the, 
in  reference  to  mothers-in-law,  7 

— custom  of  La  Couvade  among  the, 

11 

— their  ideas  with  reference  to  por- 
traits, 14,  15 

— their  use  of  writing  as  medicine,  16 

— their  mode  of  curing  diseases,  19 

— their  treatment  of  twins,  21 

— their  picture-writings,  32-34,  36-39 

— their  grave-posts,  35 

— their  personal  ornamentation,  42 

— marriage  and  relationship  among 
them,  50 


370 


INDEX, 


AME 

American  Indians — continued . 

— absence  of  marriage  ceremony,  57 

— system  of  relationship  among  some 
tribes,  65 

— custom  among  the  Hudson’s  Hay 
Indians  of  wrestling  for  a wife,  69 

— marriage  customs  of  the  South  Ame- 
ricans, 79 

— restrictions  on  marriage  among  some 
of  them,  97,  98 

— importance  of  their  totems,  or  crests, 
98 

— relationship  through  females  among 
them,  107 

— how  dreams  are  regarded  by  them, 
128 

— their  notion  of  a man’s  shadow,  128 

— and  of  a Deity,  13t) 

— absence  of  religion  among  some 
tribes,  124 

— spirits,  how  regarded  by  some,  129 

— how  they  regard  death,  133 

— their  belief  in  a plurality  of  souls, 
141 

in  divination,  142 

— their  sorcery,  144,  145 

— their  fasting  and  supposed  revela- 
tions, 154 

— their  religious  ideas,  161 

— their  belief  in  fetiches,  167 

— their  totemism,  172,  173 

— their  worship  of  the  serpent,  179, 

180 

— prevalence  of  animal  worship  among 
them,  180 

- — their  tree-worship,  196 

— their  water- worship,  202,  203 

— their  stone-worship,  210 

— their  fire-worship,  210 

— their  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
215 

— absence  of  idolatry  among  them, 
226 

— their  sacrifices,  239 

— fearless  of  death,  250 

— their  ideas  of  creation,  251 

— their  notion  of  a future  state,  269 

— their  languages,  279,  288 

— their  property  in  land,  309 

— names  taken  by  parents  from  their 
children,  316 

— their  punishment  of  crime,  317 

Ancestors,  worship  of,  228,  232 

Andaman  Islands,  relationship  between 

the  sexes  in  the,  60,  71 

Anglo-Saxons,  their  wergild,  321 

Animal-worship  considered  as  a stage 
of  religious  progress.  171 


AUS 

Animal-worship — continued. 

— explanations  of  the  ancients,  171 

— among  the  ancient  Egyptians,  183 

— custom  of  apologising  to  animals  for 
killing  them,  184 

Apis  regarded  by  the  Egyptians  as  a 
god,  239 

Arabs,  their  ideas  as  to  the  influence  of 
food,  13 

— singular  marriage  of  the  Hassanyeh, 
54 

— relations  of  husband  and  wife,  56 

— their  ancient  stone-worship,  208 

— their  notions  of  a broken  oath,  269 

Arawaks,  absence  of  the  marriage  cere- 
mony among  the,  57 

Arithmetic,  difficulties  of  savages  in, 
295 

— use  of  the  fingers  in,  296,  299 

Armenia,  marriage  customs  in,  87 

Art,  earliest  traces  of,  24 

— in  the  Stone  Age,  25 

— almost  absent  in  the  Bronze  Age, 
25 

— as  an  ethnological  character,  28,  29 

Aryan  religions  contrasted  with  Semitic, 

219,  220 

Ashantee,  king  of,  his  harem,  104 

Ashantees,  absence  of  the  marriage 
ceremony  among  the,  58 

— their  water- worship,  200 

— Assyrians,  their  human  sacrifices, 
242 

Atheism  defined,  119 

— the  natural  condition  of  the  savage 
mind,  123 

Australians,  Dampier’s  mistake  with 
the,  33 

— their  habit  of  non -contradiction,  4 

— their  customs  as  to  fathers-  and  mo- 
thers-in-law, 9 

— their  modes  of  curing  diseases,  19, 
20 

— some  of  them  unable  to  understand 
a drawing,  29 

— their  personal  ornaments,  40 

— marriage  among  them,  52 

— condition  of  their  women,  £2,  68 

— their  practice  of  marriage  by  capture, 
73,74 

— restrictions  on  marriage  among  them, 
95 

— how  dreams  are  regarded  by  them, 
127 

— their  belief  in  an  evil  spirit,  132 

— think  they  become  white  men  after 
death,  140 

— their  religious  ideas,  158 


INDEX. 


371 


AUS 

Australian  s— continued. 

— Mrs.  Thomson’s  residence  among 
them,  158 

— their  totemism,  172 

— had  no  idea  of  creation,  251 

— their  absence  of  moral  feeling,  264 

— no  notion  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments,  266 

— character  of  their  laws,  303 

— their  salutations,  306 

- — their  property  in  land,  309 

— division  of  property  into  portions, 
312 

— their  custom  of  taking  the  names  of 
their  children,  315 

— condition  of  women  among  them, 36 3 


BABYLONIA,  marriage  customs  in, 
87  # 

Bachapins,  their  religious  ideas,  161 
Balearic  Islands,  marriage  customs  in 
the,  88 

Bali,  fancies  of  the  natives  of,  respecting 
twins,  20 

— practice  of  marriage  by  capture  in,  74 
Bamboo,  the,  worshipped,  194 
Basutos,  system  of  primogeniture  of  the, 
315 

Battas  of  Sumatra,  relationship  through 
females  among  the,  106 
Bear,  worship  of  the,  182 
Bearn,  custom  of  La  Couvade  in,  9,  10 
Bechuanas,  their  ideas  regarding  evil 
spirits,  129,  134 

— their  notions  of  the  causes  of  death, 
133 

— their  totemism,  174 
Bedouins,  absence  of  religion  among  the 
wilder,  123 

— their  mode  of  divination,  142 
Bells,  use  of,  by  the  Buddhists,  135 
— and  by  the  Japanese,  135 
Berbers,  their  custom  of  inheritance 
through  females,  105 
Bintang  Islanders,  absence  of  moral 
sense  among  the,  268 
Bird-worship,  184 

Bo  tree,  worship  of  the,  in  India  and 
Ceylon,  193 

Borneo,  condition  of  the  wild  men  of 
the  interior  of,  5,  6 
— customs  as  to  mothers-in-law,  9 
— and  of  La  Couvade,  1 1 
Bornouese,  tribe  marks  of  the,  44 
Bouriats,  their  sacred  lakes,  199 
Brazilians,  their  custom  of  killing  and 
eating  captives,  89 


cm 

Brazilians — continued. 

— their  marriage  regulations,  99 

— their  notion  of  evil  spirits,  130 

— sorcerers  among  them,  153 
Britons,  postobits  among  the,  248 
Brumer  Island,  tattooing  among  the 

women  of,  44 

Bunns  of  Africa,  tribal  marks  of  the, 
43 

Bushmen,  Lichtenstein’s  description 
of  the,  quoted,  6 

— their  customs  as  to  fathers-  and 
mothers-in-law,  9 

— unable  to  understand  perspective,  30 

— absence  of  the  marriage  ceremony 
among  them,  58,  60 

— their  notions  of  ghosts,  140 


CALIFORNIANS,  absence  of  religion 
and  government  among  the,  3 23 
— their  belief  in  the  destruction  of 
body  and  spirit,  140 
— their  religious  ideas,  160 
— absence  of  ideas  respecting  creation, 
250 

Cambodians,  their  low  ideas  regarding 
spirits,  135 

— their  notion  of  eclipses,  137 
Caribs,  their  ideas  respecting  the  influ- 
ence of  food,  13 

— their  practice  of  marriage  by  cap- 
ture, 73 

— their  behaviour  during  eclipses,  137 
— their  belief  in  the  plurality  of  souls, 
HI 

— their  fasting  and  supposed  revela- 
tions, 155 

— their  notion  of  the  Deity,  264 
Caroline  Islander,  tattooing  of  a,  46 
Carthaginians,  their  human  sacrifices, 
242 

Celts,  their  tree-worship,  196 
Census  roll,  an  American  Indian,  22 
Ceylon,  two  kinds  of  marriage  in,  54 
— polyandry  in,  101 
— religious  ideas  of  the  Veddahs  of, 
159 

— tree-worship  in,  193 

the  sacred  Bo  tree,  193 

Cheek  studs,  42 

Cherokees,  divination  practised  by  the, 
143. . 

— their  practice  of  fasting,  154 
— their  progress  in  civilisation,  332 
Chinese,  their  customs  as  to  daughters* 
in-law,  8 

— their  custom  of  La  Couvade  11 


372 


INDEX. 


CHI 

Chinese — continued . 

— their  notions  as  to  the  influence  of 
food,  13 

— their  mode  of  salutation,  24 

— their  presents  of  coffins,  24 

— their  deficiency  in  the  art  of  perspec- 
tive, 30 

— their  knots  for  transacting  business, 

31 

— their  compression  of  ladies’  feet,  48 

— their. marriage  customs,  60 

— restrictions  on  marriage  amongst 
them,  97 

— notions  of  the  people  of  Kiatka  with 
reference  to  eclipses,  137 

— their  idea  of  the  man  in  the  moon, 
138 

— witchcraft  of  the  magicians,  148, 
149 

— their  fetiches,  168 

— life  attributed  by  them  to  inanimate 
objects,  190 

— their  idolatry,  227 

— their  language,  280 
Chipewyans,  their  idea  of  creation,  251 
Chiquito  Indians,  their  behaviour  dur- 
ing eclipses,  137 

Chittagong,  marriage  among  the  hill 
tribes  of,  51,  56 

Circassians,  the  milk  tie  among  them, 
66 

— marriage  by  force  among  them,  83 

— exogamy  among  them,  96 
Coffins,  presents  of,  24 
Comanches,  their  worship  of  the  sun, 

moon,  and  earth,  215 

— absence  of  moral  feeling  among  the, 
264 

Communal  marriage,  62,  66,  70 
Coroados,  custom  of  La  Couvade  among 
the,  10 

Coroados,  personal  ornaments  of  a 
woman,  41 

— their  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
215 

— their  method  of  numeration,  298 
Courtesans,  respect  paid  in  Greece  to, 

90 

— their  religious  character  in  India, 

91 

Couvade,  La,  custom  of,  in  Bearn,  10 

— its  wide  distribution,  10,  11 

— origin  of  the  custom,  1 2 
Creation,  no  idea  of,  among  the  lower 

races,  250 

Crocodile -worship,  171,  184 


F AM 

ACOTAHS,  their  notions  as  to  the 
influence  of  food,  1 3 

— their  w’ater-god,  Unktahe,  202 

— their  stone-worship,  210 
Dahomejq  king  of,  his  messengers  to  his 

deceased  father,  249 
Dampier,  his  mistake  with  Australians, 
3 

Dances,  religious,  among  savages,  155, 
359 

— a dance  among  the  Redskins  of  Vir- 
ginia, 244 

Death,  disbelief  among  savages  in  the 
existence  of  natural,  132,  133  i 

Decan,  tattooing  of  the  women  of,  44 
Deification,  savage  tendency  to,  188 
Dekkan,  sacred  stones  in  the,  206,  244 
Disease,  how  regarded  by  savages,  17 

— various  modes  of  curing,  1 8 

— causes  of,  according  to  the  Kaffirs, 
163 

Divination  among  savage  races,  141 

— modes  of,  described,  141-143 
Doingnaks,  endogafhy  of  the,  103 
Dreams,  religious  ideas  suggested  by, 

126 

Dyaks  of  Borneo,  custom  of  La  Couvade 
among  the,  1 1 

— their  ideas  respecting  the  influence 
of  food,  13 


EAR  ornaments,  42 

Eclipses,  behaviour  of  savage.5 
during,  136,  137 
Endogamy,  origin  of,  102 
England,  water- worship  in,  198 
— worship  of  stones  in,  209 
Esquimaux,  their  attempts  to  rend  el 
barren  women  fertile,  14 
— their  mode  of  curing  diseases,  19 
— their  mode  of  salutation,  24 
— their  skill  in  drawing,  26,  27 
— their  picture-writings,  32 
— their  personal  ornamentation,  42 
— their  habit  of  licking  presents,  66 
— their  capture  of  brides,  78 
— their  Shamanism,  223 
— their  language,  27  9 
— Capt.  Parry’s  picture  of  a hut  of  the 
343 

Eyebright,  the,  used  for  ocular  com 
plaints,  13 

Exogamy,  or  marriage  out  of  a tribe,  9 


17 AMILIA,  the,  of  the  Romans,  52 
. 68 


INDEX. 


373 


FAS 

Fasting  practised  by  savages,  153 
Feejeeans,  their  custom  of  Yasu,  108, 
315 

— their  tattooing,  45 

— their  hair-dressing,  48 

— their  polyandry,  55 

— their  marriage  customs,  56 

— their  marriage  by  capture,  79 

— their  mode  of  sorcery,  144,  145,  147 

— ‘their  serpent-worship,  179 

— and  worship  of  other  animals,  182 

— their  worship  of  plants,  196 

— their  stone-worship,  210 

— their  Shamanism,  224 

— their  offerings  of  food  to  the  gods, 
238 

— their  notions  of  a future  state,  246 

— their  practice  of  putting  old  people 
to  death,  248 

— names  and  character  of  their  gods, 
266 

— have  no  notion  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments,  267 

— their  ceremonies,  308 
Felatah  ladies,  toilet  of,  42 
Fetichism,  defined,  119 

— considered  as  a stage  of  religious 
progress,  164 

— belief  of  the  negroes  in,  165 

- — believed  in  Europe  and  in  other 
races,  165-167 

— eating  the  fetich,  169,  241 
Fire-worship,  212 

Flatheads  of  Oregon,  their  fasts  and 
supposed  revelations,  154 
Formosa,  tattooing  in,  44 
France,  worship  of  stones  in,  209 
Friendly  Islanders,  their  explanations 
to  Labillardiere,  3 

— their  treachery,  257 
Friesland,  marriage  by  force  in,  83 
Futans,  marriage  customs  of  the,  82 
Future  life,  absence  of  belief  in  a, 

among  savages,  139 


/'I  ALACTOPHAGI,  communal  mar- 
riage  of  the,  65 

Gambier  Islands,  tattooing  in  the,  45 
Gangamma,  or  rivers  worshipped  in 
India,  200 

Ganges,  worship  of  the,  200 
Germans,  ancient,  relationship  among 
the,  108 

Ghosts,  belief  of  savages  in,  138,  140, 

141 

— difference  in  the  belief  in  ghosts  and 
in  the  existence  of  a soul,  245 


HUR 

Goguet,  on  property,  308 

— on  laws,  300 

Goose,  the,  worshipped,  183 
Grave-posts  of  American  Indians,  33 
Greeks,  their  marriage  customs,  87 

— their  notions  respecting  their  deities, 
136 

— their  water-worship,  199 

— their  stone-worship,  208 

— origin  of  their  myths,  220,  221 

— character  of  their  gods,  266 

— their  power  of  willing  property,  31> 
Greenlanders,  their  custom  of  La  Cou- 

vade,  11 

— their  notions  respecting  dreams,  1% 

— their  behaviour  during  eclipses,  136 

— fasting  and  sorcery  among  them,  153 

— seizure  of  property  after  a man’s 
death,  311 

Gruaich-stones  in  Skye,  210 

Guam,  endogamy  in,  103 

Guiana,  custom  of  La  Couvade  in,  10 

— restrictions  on  marriage  among  the, 
98 

— native  method  of  numeration,  297 
Guinea,  New,  tattooing  among  the  wo- 
men of,  44 

Guinea,  tattooing  in,  44 

— human  sacrifices  at,  242 
Guyacurus  of  Paraguay,  matrimony 

among  the,  51 


*p|~ AIR-DRESSING  of  the  Feejeeans, 

Hawaii,  system  of  relationship  in, 
61-64 

— low  ideas  of  the  natives  respecting 
spirits,  134 

Head,  compression  of  the,  among  some 
American  tribes,  48 

Heaven,  ideas  of,  among  the  lower  races, 
247 

Heliogabalus,  form  of  the  god,  208 

Hermes,  or  Termes,  worship  of  stones 
under  the  name  of,  205,  208 
» Hottentots,  marriage  among  the,  50 

— their  evil  spirits,  129 

— their  notion  of  prayer,  253 

— but  no  idea  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments,  268 

Hudson’s  Pay  Indians,  relationship 
through  females  among  the,  107 

Hunting  laws  of  savages,  305 

Huron  s,  system  of  relationship  among 
the,  110-112 


374 


INDEX. 


IDO 

[DOLATBY,  or  anthropomorphism, 
119 

— considered  as  a stage  of  religions 
development,  225 

— unknown  to  the  lower  races,  226,  227 
— origin  of,  228 
— Solomon  on  idols,  230 
— idols  not  regarded  as  mere  emblems, 
231 

India,  absence  of  the  marriage  ceremony 
among  some  tribes  in,  57 
— marriage  customs  among  others,  75, 
76,  88 

— respect  paid  to  courtesans  at  Yesali, 
90,  91 

- — restrictions  on  marriage  in  some 
races,  95,  96 
— polyandry  in,  101 
— endogamy,  102 

sorcery  of  the  magicians  of,  145 
— witchcraft  in,  149 
— religious  dances  in,  157 
— Fetichism  in,  165-167 
— animal- worship  in,  183 
— inanimate  objects  worshipped  in,  191 
— tree -worship  in,  193,  194 
— water-worship  in,  200 
« — stone-worship  in,  206 
— worship  of  the  sun  in,  215 
— various  other  worships  in,  217 
— idolatry  in,  227 
— worship  of  ancestors  in,  228 
— human  sacrifices  in,  240,  242 
— notions  of  future  rewards  and  pun- 
ishment among  various  races  of,  268 
— salutations  and  ceremonies  in,  307 
— rights  of  children  in,  314 
— primogeniture  in,  317 
Infanticide,  causes  of,  among  savages, 93 
Inheritance,  custom  of,  through  females, 
105 

Ireland,  water- worship  in,  199 
— stone-worship  in,  209 
Iroquois,  svstem  of  relationship  among 
the,  110-112 

Italy,  marriage  custom  in,  87 


AKUTS,  restrictions  on  marriage 
among  the,  97 

— their  worship  of  animals,  1 82 

— their  worship  of  trees,  194 
Jews,  relationship  among  the,  108 
* — , sacrifices  among  the,  237,  243 


'AFFIBS,  unable  to  understand  draw- 
. ings,  30 


KOL 

Kaffirs — continued. 

— ornamentation  of  the  skin  of  the 
Bachapins,  43 

— marriage  among  the.  50 

— remarks  of  the  chief  Seseka  to  Mr. 
Arbrousset,  114 

— absence  of  religion  among  the 
Koussas,  123 

— a Zulu’s  notions  of  religion,  125 

— disease  attributed  by  the  Koussas  to 
three  causes,  132 

— their  notion  of  the  causes  of  death, 
133 

— and  of  evil  spirits,  135 

— religious  ideas,  161,  162 

— curious  hunting  custom  of  the 
Koussas,  185 

— their  worship  of  ancestors,  229 

— their  notions  of  creation,  251 

— absence  of  moral  feeling  among  the, 
264. 

— their  method  of  numeration,  298,  299 
Kalangs  of  Java,  restrictions  on  mar- 
riage among  the,  103 

Kalmucks,  marriage  ceremonies  of  the, 

77 

— restrictions  on  marriage  among  the, 
96 

— their  character,  256 
Kamchadales,  marriage  by  capture 

among  the,  77 

— their  low  ideas  of  spirits,  134 
Kamskatka,  custom  of  La  Couvade  in, 

11 

Kenaiyers,  restrictions  on  marriage 
among  the,  97 

— relationship  through  females  among 
the,  107 

Khasias  of  Hindostan,  their  fancies 
respecting  twins,  21 
Konds  of  Orissa,  marriage  customs 
among  the,  7 5 

— restrictions  on  marriage  among  they 
96 

— their  totemism,  173 

— their  water- worship,  200 
*)•  — and  stone-worship,  206 

— their  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
216 

— human  sacrifices  among  them,  240 
Kirghiz,  sacrifices  among  the,  238 
Kissing,  not  universally  practised,  24 
Knots  used  as  records,  31 

Kols  of  Central  India,  marriage  cert* 
monies  of  the,  76 

— their  belief  in  an  evil  genius,  133 

— their  religious  dances,  155 

— their  totemism,  173 


INDEX. 


375 


KOO 

Kookies  of  Chittagong,  have  no  notion 
of  future  rewards  and  punishments, 
268 

LABBETS  of  the  Americans  and 
Africans,  42 
Lake-worship,  199-201 
Lama,  Great,  of  Thibet,  worship  of  the, 
236 

Land,  property  in,  among  savages.  308 
— communal  property,  310 
Language,  figurative,  of  savages,  191 
— the  language  of  the  lowest  races,  275 
— gesture  language,  276,  277 
— origin  of  languages,  277 
— root-words,  280 
— onomatopoeia,  281 
— abstract  names,  282 
— nicknames  and  slang  terms,  283 
— origin  of  the  terms  ‘ father  ’ and 
‘mother,’  283 

— choice  of  root-words,  289 
— poverty  of  savage  languages,  291- 
298 

— table  of  seventeen  languages,  357 
Laplanders,  their  ideas  with  reference 
to  portraits,  15 

— their  mode  of  divination,  142 
— fasting  of  wizards  among  the,  155 
Law,  connection  of,  with  right,  269 
Laws  of  the  lower  races,  300 
— character  of  their  laws,  302 
— their  multiplicity,  304 
— their  rules  and  ceremonies,  305 
— hunting  laws,  305 
— salutations,  306 
— property  in  land,  308 
— land  tenures,  311 
— wills,  312 

— punishment  of  crime,  318 
Letters,  bark,  of  the  American  Indians, 
37,  38 

Licking  presents,  habit  of,  66 
Life,  how  regarded  by  savages,  20 
Limboos,  customs  of  relationship 
among  the,  106 

Lycians,  relationship  through  females 
among  the,  106 


— animals  worshipped  in,  184 

— absence  of  temples  in,  243 
M‘Lennan  on  marriage,  vii.  57-60,  et  seq. 
Maine,  Mr.,  remarks  on  his  * Ancient 

Law,  2 


HEX 

Maine — continued. 

— on  wills,  311 

Malays,  their  ideas  respecting  the  in  - 
fluence of  food,  12 

— their  marriage  ceremonies,  76 

— Mr.  Wallace’s  picture  of  a savago 
community,  262 

— their  method  of  numeration,  298 
Mammoth,  ancient  drawing  of  a,  25 
Mandans,  their  water-worship,  203 
Mandingoes,  marriage  among  the,  51 

— absence  of  marriage  ceremony  among 
the,  58 

— custom  at  marriage,  59 

— marriage  by  force  among  the,  82 

— animal-worship  among  the,  186 

— their  notion  of  prayer,  253 
Mantchu  Tartars,  restrictions  on  mar- 
riages among  the,  103 

Maoris,  their  worship  of  animals,  182 
Marriage  among  savages,  50 

— different  kinds  of,  53,  54 

— • provisional  marriages  in  Ceylon,  54 

— absence  of  marriage  ceremony,  57 
and  of  any  word  for  marriage,  58 

— distinction  between  ‘lax’  and 
‘ brittle  ’ marriages,  59 

— gradual  development  of  the  custom 
of  marriage,  60 

— - — communal  marriage,  60,  67 
Bachofen’s  views,  67-69 

marriage  with  female  supre- 
macy, 67 

wrestling  for  wives,  69 

M‘Lennan’s  views,  69 

the  true  explanation,  70,  71 

the  prevalence  of  marriage  by 

capture,  72 

which  becomes  subsequently 

a form,  75 

custom  of  lifting  the  bride  over 

the  doorstep,  84 

marriage  by  confarreatio,  85 

expiation  for  marriage  in  various 

countries,  86,  364 

temporary  wives,  89-91 

exogamy  and  its  origin,  92 

restrictions  against  marrying 

women  of  the  same  stock,  94 
— - — endogamy,  102 

— marriage  with  half-sisters,  108 
Mercury,  his  offices,  204,  205 
Mexicans,  animal  worship  among  th^ 

181 

— their  tree-worship,  196 

— their  water-worship,  203 

— their  fire-worship,  214 

— their  human  sacrifices,  239,  240,  248 


876 


INDEX. 


MIL 

Milk  tie,  the,  in  Circassia,  66 

— strength  of  the  relationship  among 
the  Scotch  Highlanders,  1 04 

Mongols,  marriage  customs  of  the,  78 

— their  mode  of  divination,  142 

— their  laws,  304 
Moon,  worship  of  the,  214 
Moral  feeling,  origin  of,  270 

— connection  of  religion  and  morality, 
273 

Mothers-in-law,  customs  in  reference 
to,  7 


AIRS  of  India,  relationship  among 
the,  60 

— relationship  through  females  among 
the,  106. 

Naples,  feti chism  in,  255 
Natchez,  their  stone-worship,  210 

— their  fire-worship,  214,  215 
Nature-worship  defined,  119 
Naudowessies,  custom  of  polyandry 

among  the,  88 

Negroes,  inactivity  of  their  intellect,  5 

— their  notion  of  evil  spirits,  130,  131 

— their  belief  in  ghosts,  138 

— their  absence  of  belief  in  a future 
life,  139 

— become  white  men  after  death, 
140 

— their  mode  of  divination,  142 

— their  sorcery,  144 

— their  belief  in  fetichism,  1 64 

— their  tree-worship,  192,  193 

— their  worship  of  the  sea,  200 

— and  of  white  men,  masts,  and  pumps, 
202 

— tb^ir  moon-worship,  216 

— and  worship  of  an  iron  bar,  217 

— Shamanism  among  them,  225 

— have  no  notion  of  creation,  252 

— nor  of  prayer  to  the  Deity,  253 

« — absence  of  moral  feeling  among  the, 
264 

— their  salutations,  306 
Nicaragua,  rain-worship  in,  203 
Nicknames,  origin  of,  283 

Nicobar  Islands,  ideas  of  the  natives  of, 
of  spirits,  134 

Numerals,  savage  names  of,  296,  297 
Nyambanas,  ornamentation  of  the  skin 
of  the,  43 


0JIBWAS,  their  fire-worship,  214 

Omahaws,  their  customs  respecting 
Mons-in-law,  7 


QUI 

Ornaments,  personal,  of  savages,  40 
Ostiaks,  their  customs  as  to  daughters- 
in-law,  8 

— exogamy  among  them,  96 

— their  religious  dances,  157 

— their  fetiches,  169 

— their  tree- worship,  194 

— and  stone- worship,  206 

— their  statues  in  memory  of  the 
dead,  229 

Ox,  the,  held  sacred  in  India  and 
Ceylon,  183 


PARAGUAY,  sea-worship  in,  204 
Parents,  custom  of  naming  them 
after  children,  316 
Patagonians,  their  tree- worship,  196 
Petition,  an  American  Indian,  39 
Peruvians,  their  mode  of  recording 
events,  31 

— their  notions  of  eclipses,  137 
— their  animal  worship,  181 
— their  sea-worship,  204 
— their  fire-worship,  214 
— their  notion  of  religion  and  morals, 
268,  269 

Phillippine  Islands,  worship  of  trees  in 
the,  195 

Phoenicians,  their  stone -worship,  208 
Picture-writing,  31,  32 
Pleiades,  worship  of  the,  2 1 
Polyandry,  reasons  for,  55 
— causes  of,  100 

— list  of  tribes  regarded  as  polyandrou©, 
100 

— considered  as  an  exceptional  pheno- 
menon, 100,  101 

— widely  distributed  over  India,  Thibet, 
and  Ceylon,  101 
Polygamy,  causes  of,  99,  100 
Polynesians,  relationship  through  fe- 
males in,  107 
— their  drawings,  26 
— polyandry  among  them,  101 
— their  powers  of  witchcraft,  152 
— animal- worship  among  them,  181 
— their  worship  of  men,  235 
— their  method  of  numeration,  298 
— their  property  in  land,  310 
— their  laws,  320 
Pond-worship,  201 

Priests,  absence  of,  among  the  lower 
races,  244 


QUIPPU,  the,  of  the  Peruvians,  31 


INDEX. 


377 


RAI 

Rainbow,  worship  of  the,  217 

Rain-worship,  203 

Reddies  of  Southern  India,  marriage 
customs  of  the,  54 

Reindeer,  ancient  drawing  of  a,  25,  2G 
Relationship  among  savages,  50 
Relationships  independent  of  marriage, 

61 

— adoption,  65 
— the  milk-tie,  66 

— change  in  the  relationship  female 
•to  the  male  line,  109,  110 
— system  of  kinship  of  the  Iroquois 
and  Huron  Indians,  110-112 
— through  females,  105 

males,  110 

* — present  system,  113 
Religion  of  savages,  114 
— their  mental  inactivity,  115 
— character  of  their  religion,  116 
— classification  of  the  lower  religions, 
119 

— sequence  of  religions  according  to 
Sanchoniatho,  119 

— religious  condition  of  the  lowest 
races,  121 

— tribes  among  whom  religion  is  absent, 
122 

— rudimentary  religion,  125 

dreams,  126 

a man’s  shadow,  128 

spirits  at  first  regarded  as  evil, 

129 

and  causing  disease,  131 

— — low  ideas  of  spirits  entertained 
by  savages,  134 

belief  in  ghosts,  138 

absence  of  belief  in  a future  state, 

139 

plurality  of  souls,  141 

divination  and  sorcery,  141-147 

• witchcraft,  148 

religious  dances,  155  » 

— gradual  development  of  religious 
ideas,  158-163 

fetichism,  164 

totemism,  169 

animal  worship.  171 

*—  — deification  of  inanimate  objeets, 

187 

— — tree-worship,  191 

* water-worship,  198 

worship  of  stones  and  mountains, 

204 

fire-worship,  212 

worship  of  the  sun,  moon,  and 

stars,  214 

sundry  other  worships,  216,  217 


SAV 

Religion  of  Savages — continued. 

developmental  and  adaptational 

changes,  219 

Shamanism,  222 

idolatry,  225 

worship  of  ancestors  and  of  men 

232,  233 

worship  of  principles,  237 

sacrifices,  237,  23-8 

temples,  248 

the  soul,  245-24-8 

the  future  state,  249 

creation,  250 

prayer,  253 

the  nature  of  idols,  255 

— • — connection  of  religion  and  mo- 
rality, 273 

— progress  of  religious  ideas  among 
savages,  348,  349 

Right,  connection  of,  with  law,  269 
River- worship,  201 
Rock  sculptures,  40 

— of  Western  Europe,  40 

Romans,  their  notions  respecting  their 
deities,  136 

— sorcery  among  them,  146 

— origin  of  their  myths,  221 

— their  wills,  313 

— their  laws  of  property,  319 

— property  in  land  in,  310 


ABJEISM,  187 

Sacrifices,  human,  237-242 

— confusion  of  the  victim  with  th? 
Deity,  239 

— in  ancient  times,  242 
Salutation,  forms  of,  among  savages 

23,  24 

Samoyedes,  marriage  among  the,  52 

— marriage  by  capture  among  the,  78 

— exogamy  among  the,  96 
Sanchoniatho,  sequence  of  religions  ac 

cording  to,  1 19 

Sandwich  Islander,  tattooing  of  a,  46 

— relationship  among  the,  60,  61 

— endogamy  among  them,  103 

— their  animal  worship,  181 
Savages,  their  reasons  for  what  they  do 

and  believe,’  3 

— difficulties  of  communicating  witn 
them,  and  consequent  mistakes,  3 

— inactivity  of  their  intellect,  4 

— condition  of  the  lowest  races  of  men, 
5-7 

— resemblance  of  different  races  in 
similar  stages  of  development  to  one 
another,  7 


378 


•INDEX. 


SAV. 

Savages — continued. 

— wide  distribution  of  tlie  custom  of 
La  Couvade,  10,  11 

— ideas  on  the  influence  of  food,  12 

— their  notions  with  reference  to  por- 
traits, 14 

— and  as  to  the  value  of  writing,  16,  17 

— their  ideas  of  disease,  1 7 

— their  fancies  respecting  twins,  21 

— how  life  is  regarded  by  them,  22 

— their  forms  of  salutation,  23 

— art  among  them,  24 

— their  personal  ornaments,  40 

— marriage  and  relationship  among 
them,  50  et  seq. 

— their  religion,  114  et  seq. 

— their  figurative  language,  191 

— their  character  and  morals,  257 
difficulty  of  ascertaining  the  cha- 
racter of  savage  races,  260,  261 

their  progress  in  morals,  262 

their  family  affection  and  moral 

feeling,  263. 

have  no  notion  of  a future  state, 

266 

origin  of  moral  feeling,  270 

— language  of  the  lowest  races,  275 
- — their  laws,  300 

— true  nature  of  barbarism,  340 

— general  conclusions  respecting  savage 
races,  323 

— • papers  on  the  primitive  condition  of 
man,  325,  337 

Science,  services  of,  to  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion and  humanity,  256 
Scotland,  water- worship  in,  198 

— stone-worship  in  Skye,  210 
Scythians,  their  worship  of  a scimetar, 

216 

Sea,  worship  of  the,  200,  204 
Semitic  religions  contrasted  with  Aryan, 
219,  220 

Serpent,  worship  of  the,  174 

— races  in  which  the  serpent  was  and 
is  worshipped,  176 

Shadow,  how  regarded  by  savages,  128, 
163 

Shamanism  defined,  119 

— origin  of  the  word  Shaman,  222 

— account  of,  222 

Shamans  of  Siberia,  their  supernatural 
powers,  152 

Siberia,  stone-worship  in,  206 

— worship  of  ancestors  in,  229 

— notions  of  the  people  of,  as  to  Crea- 
tion, 251 

Sio'^s,  system  of  relationship  among 
the,  65 


TAC 

Skin,  ornamentation  of  the,  43 
Skye,  worship  of  stones  in, ’210 
Slang  terms,  origin  of,  283 
Smoking  in  religious  ceremonies,  157 
Snakes,  departed  relatives  tl  the  form 
of,  163 

Sneezing,  custom  at,  336 
Sonthals,  marriage  customs  of  the,  88 

— their  religious  observances  during 
intoxication,  157 

— their  mode  of  praying  for  rain,  208 
Soors,  absence  of  moral  sense  among 

the,  265  ' 

Sorcery  among  savages,  143,  144 

— various  modes  of,  144-147 

— sorcerers  not  necessarily  impostors, 

152  # 

Soul,  difference  between  the  belief  in 
ghosts  and  in  the  existence  of  a soul, 
245 

— souls  of  inanimate  objects,  246 

— belief  that  each  man  has  several 
souls,  247 

South  Sea  Islanders,  their  religion,  117 
Spartans,  their  marriages  by  capture, 
83 

Spiders  worshipped,  182 
Spirits,  always  regarded  by  savages  as 
evil,  129 

— the  authors  of  diseases,  131 
Stars,  worship  of  the,  214 

Statues,  worshipped  as  deities,  229, 
230 

Stiens  of  Cambodia,  their  belief  in  an 
evil  genius,  132 

— their  behaviour  during  eclipses,  137 

— their  animal-worship,  186 

— absence  of  temples  among  the,  243 
Stones,  worship  of,  204 
Sumatrans,  three  kinds  of  marriage 

among  the,  53,  54 
— - sorcery  among  them,  146 

— their  behaviour  during  an  eclipse, 
136 

— their  animal- worship,  186 

— their  tree-worship,  195 

— their  water-worship,  200 

— their  notion  of  a future  state,  267 

— their  names  taken  from  their  chil- 
dren, 316 

Sun,  the,  worshipped  by  the  Peruvians, 
181 

— original  form  of  sun-worship,  1 87 

— worship  pi  the,  214 
Swords,  worship  of,  216,  217 

TACITUS,  his  observations  on  the  an 
cient  Germans,  2 


IHDEX. 


379 


TAH 

Tahiti,  marriage  customs  in,  58,  59 
• — animal-worship  in,  181 

— worship  of  the  king  and  queen  of, 
233 

— absence  of  ideas  as  to  creation  in, 
253 

— character  of  the  natives,  257,  260 

— character  of  the  laws  of,  303 

— and  of  the  ceremonies  of,  307 

— property  in  land  in,  310 

— property  left  by  will  in,  313 

— custom  of  abdication  of  the  king  of, 

315  . . 

— stone-worship  in,  210 

— notions  of  the  people  as  to  future 
rewards  and  punishments,  266 

Tamils,  system  of  relationship  among 
the,  111,  112 

Tanna,  tattooing  among  the  women  of, 
44 

Tapyrians,  marriage  custom  of  the,  89 
Tartars,  their  notion  of  God,  135 

— inheritance  in  the  youngest  son 
among  the,  316 

Tattooing,  among  the  Africans,  43,  44 

— among  other  races,  44-47 
Teehurs  of  Oude,  relationship  of  the 

sexes  among  the,  60 
Teeth  filed,  42 

— pierced  and  ornamented,  42,  43 
Temples,  unknown  mostly  to  the  lower 

races,  243 

Thibet,  polyandry  in,  101 
Thomson,  Mrs.,  worshipped  as  a deity 
in  Australia,  235  • 

Thracians,  marriage  customs  of  the,  87 
Tierra  del  Euego,  marriages  in,  79 
Tinne  Indians,  restrictions  on  marriage 
among  the,  97 

Tipperahs  of  Chittagong,  their  notions 
respecting  the  spirits  of  the  dead, 
140 

Todas  of  the  Neilgherry  Hills,  their 
system  of  relationships,  64 

— their  restrictions  on  marriage,  96 

— their  worship  of  the  ox,  183 

— never  pray,  254 

Tombstones  of  American  Indians,  33 
Tonga  Islands,  tattooing  in  the,  45 

— practice  of  adoption  in  the,  65 

— relationship  through  females  in,  107 

— worship  of  animals  in  the,  182 

— immortality  of  their  chiefs,  245 

— their  notion  of  a future  state,  247 

. — character  of  the  islanders,  256,  257 

— their  absence  of  moral  feeling,  265 

— and  of  the  idea  of  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  267 


WOM 

Tonga  Islands — continued. 

— ceremonies  of  the  people  of,  306 
Totemism  defined,  119 

— considered  as  stage  of  religious  pro- 
gress, 169 

Totems,  or  crests,  importance  of,  98 
Tottigars  of  India,  system  of  relation- 
ship of  the,  65 

Tree- worship,  universality  of,  192 
Tribe  marks  of  various  African  races,  44 
Tunguses,  marriage  by  capture  among 
the,  77 

— their  mode  of  divination,  142 

— their  water-worship,  199 
Turkomans,  marriage  among  the,  56 
Tuski,  their  skill  in  drawing,  26 
Twins,  fancies  respecting,  20,  21 

— cause  of  the  general  prejudice  against, 

21,  22 

Tylor,  Early  History  of  Man,  vii. 

Tyre,  worship  of  a statue  of  Hercules 
at,  231 


YEEDAHS  of  Ceylon,  their  religious 
ideas,  159 

Vesali,  religious  character  of  the 
courtesans  of,  91 

Virginia,  religious  dance  of  the  natives 
of,  156 


WALES,  marriage  customs  in,  83 

Warali  tribes,  restrictions  on 
marriage  in  the,  95 
Water- worship,  in  Europe,  198,  199 
Wells,  sacred,  in  Scotland,  198,  199 
Wergild  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  321 
Whately,  Dr.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
his  views  as  to  the  condition  of 
savages,  325 

— answers  to  his  arguments,  329 
Whydah,  an  idol  of,  178 
— water-worship  at,  200 
Wills,  modern  origin  of,  312 
Witchcraft  among  savages,  148 
— its  similarity  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  148,  149 

— the  belief  in,  shared  by  Europeans, 
150 

Wives,  custom  of  supplying  guests  with, 
88,  89 

Women,  position  of,  among  savages, 
51,  68 

— communities  in  which  women  have 
exercised  the  supreme  power,  67,  68 
— origin  of  exogamy,  92 
— causes  of  polygamy,  99 


S80 


INDEX, 


WOM 

W omen — continued . 

— endogamy,  102 

— inheritance  through  females,  105 

— position  of  women  in  Australia,  363 
Wrestling  for  a wife,  custom  of,  69 
Writing,  used  as  medicine,  16 

— surprise  of  savages  at,  as  a mode  of 
communication,  30 

— picture-writing,  32 

Indian  hark  letters,  36-39 

— application  of  art  to  purposes  of 
personal  decoration,  40 


FRKALAS  of  Southern  India,  mar- 
riage customs  of  the,  102 


ZEALANDERS,  New,  their  tattooing, 
47 


ZEA 

Zealanders,  New — continued . 

— their  courtship  and  marriage,  80 

— endogamy  among  them,  103 

— evil  spirits,  how  regarded  by  them, 
131 

— sorcery  and  witchcraft  among  them, 
147,  148 

— custom  of  hardening  the  heart  to 
pity,  13 

— causes  of  their  cannibalism,  13 

— their  belief  in  the  destruction  of 
body  and  spirit,  140 

— their  mode  of  divination,  142 

— their  worship  of  animals,  182 

— red  a sacred  colour  with  them,  207 

— their  worship  of  the  rainbow,  217 

— their  belief  in  the  destruction  of 
both  body  and  soul,  245 

— their  absence  of  moral  feeling,  ‘262 

— their  three  tenures  of  land,  310 


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THE  OBIGIN  OE  CIVILIZATION; 

OK,  THE 

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By  SIR  JOHI-T  LUBBOCK,  Bart.,  M.  P.,  E.  R.  S. 

330  3?ages.  Illustrated.. 

This  interesting  work  is  the  fruit  of  many  years’  research 
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and  entertaining  form.” — Albany  Evening  Journal . 

“ The  treatment  of  the  subject  is  eminently  practical,  dealing  more  with 
fact  than  theory,  or  perhaps  it  will  be  more  just  to  say,  dealing  only  with 
theory  amply  sustained  by  fact.” — Detroit  Free  Press . 

“ This  interesting  and  valuable  volume  illustrates,  to  some  extent,  the 
way  in  which  the  modern  scientific  spirit  manages  to  extract  a considerable 
treasure  from  the  chaff  and  refuse  neglected  or  thrown  aside  by  former  in- 
quirers.”— London  Saturday  Review . 

D.  APPLETON  & CO.,  Publishers 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SPECIES, 

By  CHARLES  DARWIN. 


A new  American  edition  of  uThe  Origin  of  Species,”  later  than  the  latest 
English  edition,  has  just  been  published,  with  the  author’s  most  recent  cor- 
rections and  additions. 

In  the  whole  history  of  the  progress  of  knowledge  there  is  no  case  so  re- 
markable of  a system  of  doctrines,  at  first  generally  condemned  as  false  and 
absurd,  coming  into  general  acceptance  in  the  scientific  world  in  a single 
decade.  From  the  following  statements,  the  reader  will  infer  the  estimate 
that  is  now  placed  upon  the  man  and  his  works  by  the  highest  authorities. 

“Personally  and  practically  exercised  in  zoology,  in  minute  anatomy,  in 
geology ; a student  of  geographical  distribution,  not  on  maps  and  in  museums 
only,  but  by  long  voyages  and  laborious  collection ; having  largely  advanced 
each  of  these  branches  of  science,  and  having  spent  many  years  in  gathering 
and  sifting  materials  for  his  present  work,  the  store  of  .accurately-registered 
facts  upon  which  the  author  of  the  ‘ Origin  of  Species’  is  able  to  draw  at 
will  is  prodigious.” — Prof.  T.  H.  Huxley. 

“ Far  abler  men  than  myself  may  confess  that  they  have  not  that  untiring 
patience  in  accumulating,  and  that  wonderful  skill  in  using,  large  masses  of 
facts  of  the  most  varied  kind — that  wide  and  accurate  physiological  knowl- 
edge— that  acuteness  in  devising,  that  skill  in  carrying  out  experiments,  and 
that  admirable  style  of  composition,  at  once  clear,  persuasive,  and  judicial, 
qualities  which,  in  their  harmonious  combination,  mark  out  Mr.  Darwin  as 
the  man,  perhaps  of  all  men  now  living,  best  fitted  for  the  great  work  he 
has  undertaken  and  accomplished.” — Alfred  Bussell  Wallace. 

In  Germany  these  views  are  rapidly  extending.  Prof.  Giekie,  a distin- 
guished British  geologist,  attended  the  recent  Congress  of  German  Natural- 
ists and  Physicians,  at  Innspruck,  in  which  some  eight  hundred  savants 
were  present,  and  thus  writes : 

“What  specially  struck  me  was  the  universal  sway  which  the  writings 
of  Darwin  now  exercise  over  the  German  mind.  You  see  it  on  every  side,  in 
private  conversation,  in  printed  papers,  in  all  the  many  sections  into  which 
such  a meeting  as  that  at  Innspruck  divides.  Darwin’s  name  is  often  men- 
tioned, and  always  with  the  profoundest  veneration.  But  even  where  no  al- 
lusion is  specially  made*  to  him,  nay,  even  more  markedly,  where  such  allusion 
is  absent,  we  see  how  thoroughly  his  doctrines  have  permeated  the  scientific 
mind,  even  in  those  departments  of  knowledge  which  might  seem  at  first 
sight  to  be  farthest  from  natural  history.  ‘You  are  still  discussing  in  Eng- 
land,’ said  a German  friend  to  me,  ‘ whether  or  not  the  theory  of  Darwin  can 
be  true.  We  have  got  a long  way  beyond  that  here.  His  theory  is  now  our 
common  starting-point.’  And,  so  far  as  my  experience  went,  I found  it  to 
be  so.” 

3D.  APPLETON  Sc  CO..  IMTblislierjs. 


SPENCER'S  SYSTEM  OF  PHILOSOPHY. 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  EVOLUTION. 


By  HERBERT  SPENCER. 


This  great  system  of  scientific  thought,  the  most  original  and  important  men- 
tal undertaking  of  the  age,  to  which  Mr.  Spencer  has  devoted  his  life,  is  now  well 
advanced,  the  published  volumes  being : First  Principles,  The  Principles  of  Bi- 
ology, two  volumes,  and  The  Principles  of  Psychology,  vol.  i.,  which  will  be 
shortly  printed. 

This  philosophical  system  differs  from  all  its  predecessors  in  being  solidly 
based  on  the  sciences  of  observation  and  induction ; in  representing  the  order 
and  course  of  Nature ; in  bringing  Nature  and  man,  life,  mind,  and  society,  under 
one  great  law  of  action ; and  in  developing  a method  of  thought  which  may  serve 
for  practical  guidance  in  dealing  with  the  affairs  of  life.  That  Mr.  Spencer  is  the 
man  for  this  great  work  will  be  evident  from  the  following  statements : 

“ The  only  complete  and  systematic  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  Evolution 
with  which  I am  acquainted  is  that  contained  in  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer’s  ‘ System 
of  Philosophy ; ’ a work  which  should  be  carefully  studied  by  all  who  desire  to 
know  whither  scientific  thought  is  tending.”— T.  H.  Huxley. 

“ Of  all  our  thinkers,  he  is  the  one  who  has  formed  to  himself  the  largest  new 
scheme  of  a systematic  philosophy.”— Prof.  Masson. 

“ If  any  individual  influence  is  visibly  encroaching  on  Mills  in  this  country,  it 
is  his.”— Ibid. 

“Mr.  Spencer  is  one  of  the  most  vigorous  as  well  as  boldest  thinkers  that 
English  speculation  has  yet  produced.” — John  Stuart  Mill. 

“ One  of  the  acutest  metaphysicians  of  modem  times.”— Ibid. 

“ One  of  our  deepest  thinkers.”— Dr.  Joseph  D.  Hooker. 

It  is  questionable  if  any  thinker  of  finer  calibre  has  appeared  in  our  coun- 
try.”—George  Henry  Lewes. 

“He  alone,  of  all  British  thinkers,  has  organized  a philosophy.”— Ihid. 

“ He  is  as  keen  an  analyst  as  is  known  in  the  history  of  philosophy ; I do  not 
except  either  Aristotle  or  Kant.”— George  Eipley. 

“ If  we  were  to  give  our  own  judgment,  we  should  say  that,  since  Newton, 
there  has  not  in  England  been  a philosopher  of  more  remarkable  speculative  and 
systematizing  talent  than  (in  spite  of  some  errors  and  some  narrowness)  Mr.  Her- 
bert Spencer.”— London  Saturday  Review . 

“We  cannot  refrain  from  offering  our  tribute  of  respect  to  one  who,  whether 
for  the  extent  of  his  positive  knowledge,  or  for  the  profundity  of  his  speculative 
insight,  has  already  achieved  a name  second  to  none  in  the  whole  range,  of  Eng- 
lish philosophy,  and  whose  works  will  worthily  sustain  the  credit  of  English 
thought  in  the  present  generation.” — Westminster  Review, 


D.  Appleton  & Company's  Publications . 


LAY  SERMOYS, 

ADDRESSES,  AND  REVIEWS, 

By  THOMAS  HENRY  HUXLEY. 

Cloth,  12mo.  390  pages.  Price,  $1.75 

This  is  the  latest  and  most  popular  of  the  works  of  this  in- 
trepid and  accomplished  English  thinker.  The  American  edition 
of  the  work  is  the  latest,  and  contains,  in  addition  to  the  English 
edition,  Professor  Huxley’s  recent  masterly  address  on  “ Spon- 
taneous Generation,”  delivered  before  the  British  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science,  of  which  he  was  president. 

The  following  is  from  an  able  article  in  the  Independent : 

The  “ Lay  Sermons,  Addresses,  and  Reviews  ” is  a book  to  be  read 
by  every  one  who  would  keep  up  with  the  advance  of  truth — as  well  by 
those  who  are  hostile  as  those  who  are  friendly  to  his  conclusions.  In 
it,  scientific  and  philosophical  topics  are  handled  with  consummate  abil- 
ity. It  is  remarkable  for  purity  of  style  and  power  of  expression.  No- 
where, in  any  modern  work,  is  the  advancement  of  the  pursuit  of  that 
natural  knowledge,  which  is  of  vital  importance  to  bodily  and  mental 
well-being,  so  ably  handled. 

Professor  Huxley  is  undoubtedly  the  representative  scientific  man  of 
the  age.  His  reverence  for  the  right  and  devotion  to  truth  have  estab- 
lished his  leadership  of  modern  scientific  thought.  He  leads  the  beliefs 
and  aspirations  of  the  increasingly  powerful  body  of  the  younger  men  of 
science.  His  ability  for  research  is  marvellous.  There  is  possible  no  more 
equipoise  of  judgment  than  that  to  which  he  brings  the  phenomena  of 
Nature.  Besides,  he  is  not  a mere  scientist.  His  is  a popularized  phi- 
losophy ; social  questions  have  been  treated  by  his  pen  in  a manner  most 
masterly.  In  his  popular  addresses,  embracing  the  widest  range  of  top- 
ics, he  treads  on  ground  with  which  he  seems  thoroughly  familiar. 

There  are  those  who  hold  the  name  of  Professor  Huxley  as  synony- 
mous with  irreverence  and  atheism.  Plato’s  was  so  held,  and  Galileo’s, 
and  Descartes’s,  and  Newton’s,  and  Faraday’s.  There  can  be  no  greater 
mistake.  No  man  has  greater  reverence  for  the  Bible  than  Huxley.  No 
one  more  acquaintance  with  the  text  of  Scripture.  He  believes  there  is 
definite  government  of  the  universe  ; that  pleasures  and  pains  are  distrib- 
uted in  accordance  with  law ; and  that  the  certain  proportion  of  evil 
woven  up  in  the  life  even  of  worms  will  help  the  man  who  thinks  to  bear 
his  own  share  with  courage. 

In  the  estimate  of  Professor  Huxley’s  future  influence  upon  science, 
his  youth  and  health  form  a large  element.  He  has  just  passed  his  forty, 
fifth  year.  If  God  spare  his  life,  truth  can  hardly  fail  to  be  the  gainer 
from  a mind  that  is  stored  with  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  Creator’s 
operations,  and  that  has  learned  to  love  all  beauty  and  hate  *3  rileness  of 
Nature  and  art. 


Works  of  Herbert  Spencer  published  by  D.  Appleton  & Co. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  UNIVERSAL  PROGRESS. 

A SERIES  OF  DISCUSSIONS. 

1 Vol  Large  12  mo.  470  Pages.  Price  $2.50. 

CONTENTS : 

American  Notice  of  Spencer’s  New  System  of  Philosophy. 

1.  Progress : its  Law  and  Cause. 

II  Manners  and  Fashion. 

III.  The  Genesis  of  Science. 

IV.  The  Physiology  of  Laughter. 

V.  The  Origin  and  Function  of  Music. 

VI.  The  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

VII.  Bain  on  the  Emotions  and  the  Will. 

VIII.  Illogical  Geology. 

IS.  The  Development  Hypothesis. 

X.  The  Social  Organism. 

XL  Use  and  Beauty. 

XII.  The  Sources  of  Architectural  Types. 

XIII.  The  Dse  of  Anthropomorphism. 

These  Essays  constitute  a body  of  massive  and  original  thought  upon  a 
large  variety  of  important  topics,  and  will  be  read  with  pleasure  by  all  who 
appreciate  a bold  and  powerful  treatment  of  fundamental  themes.  The 
general  thought  which  pervades  this  book  is  beyond  doubt  the  most  impor- 
tant that  the  human  mind  has  yet  reached. — N.  Y.  Independent . 

Those  who  have  read  the  work  on  Education,  will  remember  the  ana- 
lytic tendency  of  the  author’s  mind — his  clear  perception  and  admirable  ex- 
position of  hrst  principles — his  wide  grasp  of  facts — his  lucid  and  vigorous 
style,  and  the  constant  and  controlling  bearing  of  the  discussion  on  practical 
results.  These  traits  characterize  all  Mr.  Spencer’s  writings,  and  mark,  in 
an  eminent  degree,  the  present  volume. — N.  Y.  Tribune. 

We  regard  the  distinguishing  feature  of  this  work  to  be  the  peculiarly 
Interesting  character  of  its  matter  to  the  general  reader.  This  is  a great 
literary  as  well  as  philosophic  triumph.  In  the  evolution  of  a system  of 
Philosophy  which  demands  serious  attention,  and  a keen  exercise  of  the  in- 
tellect to  fathom  and  appreciate,  he  has  mingled  much  that  is  really  popuiaJ 
and  entertaining. — Rochester  Democrat. 


Woiks  of  Herbert  Spencer  published  by  I).  Appleton  & Co. 


A NEW  SYSTEM  OP  PHILOSOPHY. 

FIRST  PRINCIPLES. 

9 YoL  h&rge  12mo.  515  Pages.  Price  $2  50. 

Contents : 

Past  First. — The  Unknowable . 

£foaptei  i.  Religion  and  Science;  II.  Ultimate  Religious  Ideas;  III 
Ultimate  Scientific  Ideas;  IV.  The  Relativity  of  all  Knowledge;  V Tha 
Reconciliation. 

Part  Second. — Laws  of  the  Know  able. 

I.  Laws  in  General;  II.  The  Law  of  Evolution;  III.  The  same  con- 
tinued ; IV.  The  Causes  of  Evolution ; V.  Space,  Time,  Matter,  Motion,  and 
Force ; VI.  The  Indestructibility  of  Matter ; VII.  The  Continuity  of  Motion ; 
VIII.  The  Persistence  of  Force ; IX.  The  Correlation  and  Equivalence  of 
Forces ; X.  The  Direction  of  Motion ; XI.  The  Rhythm  of  Motion ; XII.  The 
Conditions  Essential  to  Evolution ; XIII.  The  Instability  of  the  Homoge- 
neous ; XIV.  The  Multiplication  of  Effects ; XV.  Differentiation  ^nd  Inte- 
gration ; XVI.  Equilibration ; XVII.  Stunmary  and  Conclusion. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  work  Mr.  Spencer  defines  the  province,  limits,  and 
relations  of  religion  and  science,  and  determines  the  legitimate  scope  of 
philosophy. 

In  part  second  he  unfolds  those  fundamental  principles  which  have  been 
arrived  at  within  the  sphere  of  the  knowable ; which  are  true  of  all  orders 
of  phenonema,  and  thus  constitute  the  foundation  of  all  philosophy.  The 
law  of  Evolution,  Mr.  Spencer  maintains  to  be  universal,  and  he  has  here 
worked  it  out  as  the  basis  of  his  system. 

These  First  Principles  are  the  foundation  of  a system  of  Philosophy 
bolder,  more  elaborate,  and  comprehensive  perhaps,  than  any  other  which 
oat  been  hitherto  designed  in  England. — British  Quarterly  Review. 

A work  lofty  in  aim  and  remarkable  in  execution — Cornhill  Magazine. 

In  the  works  of  Herbert  Spencer  we  have  the  rudiments  of  a positive 
Theology,  and  an  immense  step  toward  the  perfection  of  the  science  of  Psy- 
ch ology. — Christian  Examiner. 

If  we  mistake  not,  in  spite  of  the  very  negative  character  of  his  own  re- 
mits, he  has  foreshadowed  some  strong  arguments  for  the  doctrine  of  a posi- 
tive Christian  Theology. — New  Englander . 

As  far  as  the  frontiers  of  knowledge,  where  the  intellect  may  go,  there  fi 
ao  living  man  whose  guidance  may  more  safely  be  trusted. — 
tfontMu. 


Works  of  Herbert  Spencer  published  by  JD.  Appleton  & Oo 


A NEW  SYSTEM  OF  PHILOSOPHY. 

PRINCIPLES  OP  BIOLOGY. 

TV  is  work  is  now  in  course  of  publication  in  quarterly  numbers  (from  80 
iOO  pages  each),  by  subscription,  at  $2  per  annum.  It  is  to  form  two  vok 
anies,  of  which  the  first  is  nearly  completed,  four  numbers  having  been 
.ssued.  While  it  comprises  a statement  of  those  general  principles  and  laws 
s>f  life  to  which  science  has  attained,  it  is  stamped  with  a marked  originality* 
both  in  the  views  propounded  and  in  the  method  of  treating  the  subject.  It 
will  be  a standard  and  invaluable  work.  Some  idea  of  the  discussion  may 
be  formed  by  glancing  over  a few  of  the  first  chapter  headings. 

Part  First.— Data  of  Biology. 

I.  Organic  Matter;  II.  The  actions  of  Forces  on  Organic  Matter;  III 
The  Reactions  of  Organic  Matter  on  Forces ; IY.  Proximate  Definition  of 
Life ; Y.  The  Correspondence  between  Life  and  its  Circumstances ; YI.  The 
Degree  of  Life  Yaries  with  the  Degree  of  Correspondence;  VII  Scope  of 
Biology. 

Part  Second. — Inductions  of  Biology. 

L Growth;  II.  Development;  III.  Function;  IY.  Waste  and  Repair, 
Y.  Adaptation;  YI.  Individuality;  YII.  Genesis;  YIII.  Heredity;  IX. 
Yariation;  X.  Genesis,  Heredity,  and  Variation;  XI.  Classification;  XIL 
Distribution. 

Mr.  Spencer  is  equally  remarkable  for  his  search  after  first  principles ; 
kat  his  acute  attempts  to  decompose  mental  phenomena  into  their  primary 
elements ; and  for  his  broad  generalizations  of  mental  activity,  mind  in  con- 
nection with  instinct,  and  all  the  analogies  presented  by  life  in  its  universal 
* speHa, — Medico-  Chirurgicat  Review . 


Works  of  Herbert  fencer  published  by  D.  App  eton  Ac  Co. 


ESSAYS: 

MO  UAL,  POLITICAL,  AND  ESTHETIC. 

la  one  Volume.  Large  12mo.  380  pages. 

contents: 

I.  The  Philosophy  of  Style. 

II.  Over-Legislation. 

III.  Morals  of  Trade. 

IV.  Personal  Beauty. 

V.  Representative  Government. 

VI.  Prison-Ethics. 

VII.  Railway  Morals  and  Railway  Policy. 

VIII.  Gracefulness. 

IX.  State  Tamperings  with  Money  and  Banks. 

X.  Reform  ; the  Dangers  and  the  Safeguards. 


“ These  Essays  form  a new,  and  if  we  are  not  mistaken,  a most  popular  installment 
ef  the  intellectual  benefactions  of  that  earnest  writer  and  profound  philosopher,  Her- 
bert Spencer.  There  is  a remarkable  union  of  the  speculative  and  practical  in  these 
papers.  They  are  the  fruit  of  studies  alike  economical  and  psychological ; they  touch 
the  problems  of  the  passing  hour,  and  they  grasp  truths  of  universal  application  ; they 
will  be  found  as  instructive  to  the  general  reader  as  interesting  to  political  and  social 
students.’1 — Boston  Transcript. 

“ These  Essays  exhibit  on  a.most  every  page  the  powers  of  an  independent  human- 
itarian thinker.  Mr.  Spencer’s  ethics  are  rigid,  his  political  views  liberalistic,  and  hia 
aim  is  the  production  of  the  highest  earthly  good"— Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 

“It  abounds  in  the  results  of  the  sharp  observation,  the  wide  reach  of  knowledge, 
*nd  the  capacity  to  write  clearly,  forcibly,  and  pointedly,  for  which  this  writei  Is  pre- 
eminent. The  subjects  are 'all  such.as  concern  us  most  intimately,  and  they  are  treated 
with  admirable  tact  and  knowledge.  The  first  essay  on  the  Philosophy  of  Style  is 
worth  the  cost  of  the  volume ; it  would  be  a deed  of  charity  to  print  it  by  itself,  and 
send  it  to  the  editor  of  every  newspaper  in  the  land.” — Hew  Englander. 

“ Spencer  is  continually  gaining  ground  with  Americans ; he  makes  a book  fbr  on, 
more  serious  moods.  His  remarks  upon  legislation,  upon  the  nature  of  political  insti- 
tutions and  of  their  fundamental  principles;  his  elucidation  of  those  foundation  truths 
which  control  the  policy  of  government,  are  of  peculiar  value  to  the  American  stu 
•len V'— Boston  Post. 

“This  volume  will  receive  the  applause  of  every  serious  reader  tor  the  proround 
earnestness  and  thoroughness  with  which  its  views  are  elaborated,  the  infinite  scientific 
knowledge  brought  to  bear  on  every  question,  and  the  acute  and  subtle  thinking  dis- 
mayed in  every  chapter.” — H.  W.  Christian  Advocate. 

“A  more  instructive,  suggestive,  and  stimulating  volume  has  not  reached  us  i*  e 
mi \ time,” — P)  evidence  Jourvu. 


B.  APPLETON  & CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


THE 

Correlation  and  Conservation  of  Forces. 

WITH  AN 

. INTRODUCTION  AND  BRIEF  BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES 

By  EDWARD  L.  YOUMANS,  M.D.  12mo,  490  pages. 

CONTENTS. 

L By  W.  R.  Grove.  The  Correlation  of  Physical  Forces. 

II.  By  Prof.  Helmholtz.  The  Interaction  of  Natural  Forces. 

HI.  By  J.  R.  Mayer.  1.  Remarks  on  the  Forces  of  Inorganic  Nature. 

2.  On  Celestial  Dynamics. 

3.  On  the  Mechanical  Equivalent  of  Heat. 

IV.  By  Dr.  Faraday.  Some  Thoughts  on  the  Conservation  of  Forces. 

Y.  By  Prof.  Liebig.  The  Connection  and  Equivalence  of  Forces. 

VI.  By  Dr.  Carpenter.  The  Correlation  of  the  Physical  and  Vital  Forces 

K This  work  is  a very  welcome  addition  to  our  scientific  literature,  and  will  be 
particularly  acceptable  to  those  who  wish  to  obtain  a popular,  but  at  the  same  time 
precise  and  clear  view  of  what  Faraday  justly  calls  the  highest  law  in  physical  science, 
the  principle  of  the  conservation  of  force.  Sufficient  attention  has  not  been  paid  to  the 
publication  of  collected  monographs  or  memoirs  upon  special  subjects.  Dr.  Youmans’ 
work  exhibits  the  value  of  such  collections  in  a very  striking  manner,  and  we  earnestly 
hope  his  excellent  example  may  be  followed  in  other  branches  of  science.” — American 
Journal  of  Science. 

“ It  was  a happy  thought  which  suggested  the  publication  of  this  volume.  The 
question  is  often  asked,  and  not  so  easily  answered,  What  are  the  new  doctrines  of  the 
Correlation  and  Conservation  of  Forces?  In  this  volume  we  have  the  answer,  and 
with  the  reasons  of  its  chief  expounders ; those  who  are  ignorant  on  that  theme,  can 
thus  question  the  original  authorities.” — New  Englander. 

“We  here  have  the  original  expositions  of  the  new  Philosophy  cf  Forces,  accompa- 
nied by  an  excellent  exposition  of  both  the  expositions  and  the  expositors;  the  whole 
will  be  a rare  treat  to  the  lovers  of  advancing  scientific  thought.” — Methodist 
Quarterly  Review. 

“This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  book  of  the  age.  We  have  here  the  latest 
discoveries,  and  the  highest  results  of  thought  concerning  the  nature,  laws,  and  con- 
nections of  the  forces  of  the  universe.  No  higher  or  more  sublime  problem  can  engage 
the  intellect  of  man  than  is  discussed  by  these  doctors  of  science  intent  alone  on  aniv- 
tag  at  the  truth.” — Detroit  Free  Press. 

‘Tliis  work  presents  a praiseworthy  specimen  of  complete  and  faithful  authorship, 
and  its  publication  at  this  time  will  form  an  epoch  in  the  experience  of  many  thinking 
minda.”—  ibun e. 


Works  published  by  D.  Appleton  dc  Co, 


THE  CORRELATION  AND  CONSERVATION 


OF 


FORCES. 


I SERIES  OF  EXPOSITIONS  BY  GROVE,  MAYER,  HELMHOLTZ, 
FARADAY,  LIEBIG,  AND  CARPENTER. 


WITH 

AN  INTRODUCTION. 

BY  E.  L.  YOUMANS 


The  work  embraces : 

I. — THE  CORRELATION"  OF  PHYSICAL  FORCES.  Bi 
W.  R.  Geove.  (The  complete  work.) 

H. — CELESTIAL  DYNAMICS.  By  De.  J.  R.  Mate*. 

III. — THE  INTERACTION  OF  FORCES.  By  Peof.  Helm- 
holtz. 

IT. — THE  CONNECTION  AND  EQUIVALENCE  OF 
FORCES.  By  Peof.  Liebig. 

V.— ON  THE  CONSERVATION  OF  FORCE.  Br  Du. 
Faeaday. 

?L— ON  THE  CORRELATION  OF  PHYSICAL  AND  VI 
TAL  FORCES.  By  De.  Caepenteb. 


WorZs  of  Herbert  Spencer  published  by  D . Appleton  t&  Co. 


In  One  Yolnmc,  8yo.,  Cloth.  Price  $2.50. 


SOCIAL  STATICS; 

OE, 

THE  CONDITIONS  ESSENTIAL  TO  HUMAN  HAPPINESS  SPECI- 
FIED, AND  THE  FIRST  OF  THEM  DEYELOPED. 

BY  HERBERT  SPENCER. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

Mr.  Spencer,  in  his  able  and  logical  work  on  “ Social  Statics  ” . . . . Edin - 
burgh  Review. 

It  deserves  very  high  praise  for  the  ability,  clearness,  and  force  with  which 
it  is  written,  and  which  entitle  it  to  the  character,  now  so  rare,  of  a really  sub- 
stantial book. — North  British  Review. 

A remarkable  work Mr.  Spencer  exhibits,  and  exhibits  with  re- 

markable force  and  clearness,  many  social  equalizations  of  a just  and  right 
species  which  remain  yet  to  be  effected. — British  Quarterly  Review. 

An  inquiry  conducted  throughout  with  clearness,  good  temper,  and  strict 

logic We  shall  be  mistaken  if  this  book  do  not  assist  in  organising  that 

huge  mass  of  thought  which,  for  want  of  a more  specific  name,  is  now  called 
Liberal  Opinion. — Athenwum. 

It  is  the  most  eloquent,  the  most  interesting,  the  most  clearly-expressed  and 
logically-reasoned  work,  with  views  the  most  original,  that  has  appeared  in  the* 
science  of  social  polity. — Literary  Gazette. 

The  author  of  the  present  work  is  no  ordinary  thinker,  and  no  ordinary  wri- 
ter ; and  he  gives  us,  in  language  that  sparkles  with  beauties,  and  in  reasoning 
at  once  novel  and  elaborate,  precise  and  logical,  a very  comprehensive  and 

complete  exposition  of  the  rights  of  men  in  society The  book  will 

mark  an  epoch  in  the  literature  of  scientific  morality. — Economist. 

We  remember  no  work  on  ethics  since  that  of  Spinoza  to  be  compared  with 
it  in  the  simplicity  of  its  premises,  and  the  logical  rigour  with  which  a com- 
plete system  of  scientific  ethics  is  evolved  from  them A work  at  once 

so  scientific  in  spirit  and  method,  and  so  popular  in  execution,  we  shall  look  in 
vain  for  through  libraries  of  political  philosophy. — Leader. 

The  careful  reading  we  have  given  it  has  both  afforded  us  intense  pleasure, 
and  rendered  it  a duty  to  express,  with  unusual  emphasis,  our  opinion  of  its 
gres-t  ability  and  excellence. — Nonconformist. 


New  York:  D.  Appleton  and  Company, 


y 


i 


INSTITUTE 


